If I asked what you most want God to change about the situation with your child, you could probably answer quickly.
Maybe you want a decision reversed. A relationship restored. A conversation to finally happen. Or you desperately want your child to see something you wish they could see.
So you pray:
"God, please change this."
There is nothing wrong with bringing that desire to God. But what if there is another prayer to pray in this season?
"God, what do You want to do in me while I wait?"
In this episode, we're shifting some of the attention away from everything we hope God will do in our adult child's life and asking a harder—and potentially transformative—question:
What might God be doing in us?
I share the words of one parent who came into Boots On the Ground wanting God to change her daughter and walked away realizing that God had changed her.
Her circumstances weren't suddenly under her control. Her daughter's choices hadn't become hers to manage. But those choices no longer had the same control over her.
That's the kind of transformation we're talking about today.
In This Episode, We Talk About:
- How our child's journey can slowly become the center of our spiritual attention
- Why praying for God to work in our children and allowing Him to work in us can happen at the same time
- What difficult circumstances may reveal about fear, control, identity, grief, and trust
- The difference between trying to "figure out the lesson" and simply becoming available to God
- How God may be teaching us to listen, surrender, trust, and hold truth and compassion together
- Why experiencing joy again doesn't require waiting for every family circumstance to be resolved
- A simple practice to help you pay attention to what God may be doing in you during this season
Questions to Take to the Lord This Week
Start with the prayer you may already be praying:
"Lord, what do You want for my child?"
Then make room for another:
"Lord, what are You doing in me?"
As you sit with Him, consider:
- What is this situation revealing about me?
- What fears or beliefs have surfaced?
- Where am I still trying to maintain control?
- Has my identity as a "good parent" become connected to my child's choices?
- What have I learned about God in this season?
- What have I learned about myself?
- Where have I grown?
- Where might God be inviting me to trust Him differently?
You don't need to come away with ten answers.
Maybe there's just one thing the Lord is putting His finger on today.
One faithful next step is enough.
This is the kind of work we do inside Boots On the Ground.
We don't spend seven weeks trying to figure out how to change our children. We look honestly at how we're showing up, what's driving us, what we're carrying, where God is leading us, and what faithfulness looks like in the relationships we're actually living.
Our fall groups begin in September, with both daytime and evening options.
If you're a Christian parent with an adult child who has embraced an LGBT identity and you're looking for support as you navigate faith, relationship, communication, boundaries, and your own walk with God, you can find the details and application in the links HERE.
Connect with Melinda:
www.melindapatrick.org
Your child has their journey. You have yours. Let's learn to walk yours faithfully.
