1 00:00:02,670 --> 00:00:04,450 Speaker 1: Life Audio. 2 00:00:10,830 --> 00:00:14,410 Speaker 2: Welcome to the Crosswalk Devotional. We are so glad to 3 00:00:14,450 --> 00:00:18,150 Speaker 2: have you listening with us here today. Today's topic is 4 00:00:18,190 --> 00:00:22,250 Speaker 2: about trusting your adult child to God. We will return 5 00:00:22,650 --> 00:00:38,900 Speaker 2: after a brief message from our sponsor. Giving Your Adult 6 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:43,510 Speaker 2: Child's Heartbreak to God Written by Leah Gerard Read by 7 00:00:43,550 --> 00:00:49,309 Speaker 2: Rochelle Alberti Bible Reading When you pass through the waters, 8 00:00:49,930 --> 00:00:50,390 Speaker 2: I will. 9 00:00:50,229 --> 00:00:50,769 Speaker 3: Be with you. 10 00:00:50,790 --> 00:00:53,850 Speaker 4: And when you pass through the rivers, they will not 11 00:00:53,950 --> 00:00:56,690 Speaker 4: sweep over you. And when you walk through the fire, 12 00:00:56,950 --> 00:00:59,890 Speaker 4: you will not be burned. The flames will not set 13 00:00:59,930 --> 00:01:07,890 Speaker 4: you ablaze. Isaiah 43.2 NIV As Christians, we know that 14 00:01:07,940 --> 00:01:12,020 Speaker 4: Jesus doesn't promise a trouble-free life here on earth, which 15 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:14,860 Speaker 4: naturally means we can expect that there will be days 16 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:20,819 Speaker 4: or seasons of pain, heartache, confusion, or grief. However, just 17 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:23,780 Speaker 4: knowing that we're human and that hurt will find us 18 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:30,050 Speaker 4: eventually doesn't prevent the sadness and anger heartbreak causes, whenever 19 00:01:30,370 --> 00:01:33,750 Speaker 4: and however it shows up. We can try to gird 20 00:01:33,790 --> 00:01:38,250 Speaker 4: ourselves with gratitude, faith, and hope, Relying on this inclination 21 00:01:38,310 --> 00:01:41,530 Speaker 4: can help us weather storms, but we can't make the 22 00:01:41,590 --> 00:01:46,590 Speaker 4: storms simply not come. Being a parent of two adult children, 23 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,360 Speaker 4: I deeply understand the desire to wish every hard thing 24 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:54,300 Speaker 4: away from your children's lives. It starts early, before their 25 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:59,130 Speaker 4: very first injury, and continues throughout your entire parenting journey. 26 00:02:00,250 --> 00:02:02,850 Speaker 4: And although you know that surviving struggles will help your 27 00:02:02,890 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 4: children build compassion, wisdom, and strength, This can get dicey 28 00:02:07,260 --> 00:02:10,679 Speaker 4: when it comes to someone mistreating them or breaking their heart. 29 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:14,580 Speaker 4: Because you've raised your child to be an adult, you 30 00:02:14,620 --> 00:02:18,890 Speaker 4: know they're out there in this world, taking chances, loving deeply, 31 00:02:19,430 --> 00:02:22,990 Speaker 4: and making their own choices. Yet you still want to 32 00:02:23,030 --> 00:02:26,210 Speaker 4: be there for them whenever they may need you. But 33 00:02:26,250 --> 00:02:30,160 Speaker 4: the role has shifted fully now, from daily provider to 34 00:02:30,220 --> 00:02:34,359 Speaker 4: encourager as they chart their own path. You know it's 35 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 4: right to raise adults and not baby your grown children, 36 00:02:37,940 --> 00:02:41,580 Speaker 4: but it's also a strange and somewhat tender passage. It 37 00:02:41,620 --> 00:02:45,230 Speaker 4: means letting go of having a say-so and just being 38 00:02:45,290 --> 00:02:49,450 Speaker 4: available for them as they seek direction from the ultimate parent, God. 39 00:02:50,990 --> 00:02:55,710 Speaker 4: In Isaiah 43-2, God is reassuring the Israelites that He 40 00:02:55,770 --> 00:02:59,010 Speaker 4: is carrying them through their exile, no matter how hard 41 00:02:59,070 --> 00:03:02,400 Speaker 4: it seems. And He is assuring all of us today 42 00:03:02,419 --> 00:03:05,800 Speaker 4: that that no matter what your adult child is walking through, 43 00:03:06,300 --> 00:03:11,700 Speaker 4: God promises to step right into the murky water with them. Later, 44 00:03:11,940 --> 00:03:17,450 Speaker 4: in Isaiah 43, 18-19, God says, Forget the former things. 45 00:03:17,810 --> 00:03:20,850 Speaker 4: Do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing 46 00:03:20,910 --> 00:03:23,790 Speaker 4: a new thing. Now it springs up. Do you not 47 00:03:23,889 --> 00:03:27,050 Speaker 4: perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness 48 00:03:27,270 --> 00:03:31,710 Speaker 4: and streams in the wasteland. Some biblical scholars say that 49 00:03:31,750 --> 00:03:35,010 Speaker 4: God is clearly stating here that when a situation is 50 00:03:35,090 --> 00:03:39,710 Speaker 4: dire and feels unbearable, He will never abandon you and 51 00:03:39,770 --> 00:03:43,130 Speaker 4: is working on something new for you. This is good 52 00:03:43,210 --> 00:03:45,790 Speaker 4: news when your own heart is aching because someone has 53 00:03:45,890 --> 00:03:49,640 Speaker 4: broken your adult child's heart. It means you can be 54 00:03:49,700 --> 00:03:54,000 Speaker 4: sure that God is in control of your child's recovery. Remember, 55 00:03:54,300 --> 00:03:57,540 Speaker 4: it's a promise. And for your own heart, while you're 56 00:03:57,580 --> 00:04:00,770 Speaker 4: believing in God to carry your child through grief, you 57 00:04:00,810 --> 00:04:04,490 Speaker 4: can lean into 1 Peter 5-7 and cast all your 58 00:04:04,570 --> 00:04:09,430 Speaker 4: anxiety on Him because He cares for you. When something 59 00:04:09,510 --> 00:04:12,630 Speaker 4: hurts your grown child's heart, leaving them holding a heavy 60 00:04:12,690 --> 00:04:16,280 Speaker 4: load of bewilderment or loneliness, let them know you love 61 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:19,180 Speaker 4: them and are right here for anything they want or need. 62 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:23,510 Speaker 4: Keep checking in and listening. it's likely they've been through 63 00:04:23,570 --> 00:04:26,089 Speaker 4: enough maturing to not want or need you to preach 64 00:04:26,130 --> 00:04:29,030 Speaker 4: to them, offer them pity, or even cry with them, 65 00:04:29,790 --> 00:04:33,230 Speaker 4: though I know you want to. Because God is with them, 66 00:04:33,630 --> 00:04:37,080 Speaker 4: you can be the sane, present, interested, loving parent you've 67 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:41,680 Speaker 4: always been, and have faith in better days ahead. You 68 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:44,420 Speaker 4: may have been through the other side of heartbreak yourself 69 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:47,159 Speaker 4: and seen the kind of redemptions your child hasn't. 70 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:48,420 Speaker 3: Yet. 71 00:04:49,940 --> 00:04:52,960 Speaker 4: It's certain they will encounter their own unique ups, downs, 72 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:58,350 Speaker 4: and renewals. So be patient, be kind, and remember the 73 00:04:58,390 --> 00:05:02,229 Speaker 4: final verse of the famous 1 Corinthians 13 love chapter 74 00:05:02,290 --> 00:05:04,950 Speaker 4: that tells us that true love is patient and kind, 75 00:05:05,610 --> 00:05:10,510 Speaker 4: also encourages us, and now these three remain, faith, hope, 76 00:05:10,570 --> 00:05:15,210 Speaker 4: and love. But the greatest of these is love. Remind 77 00:05:15,250 --> 00:05:17,510 Speaker 4: your child that God loves them, and so do you. 78 00:05:18,380 --> 00:05:21,130 Speaker 4: and that you believe God's promise that He will carry 79 00:05:21,170 --> 00:05:26,349 Speaker 4: them through. Intersecting Faith and Life When you want to 80 00:05:26,510 --> 00:05:31,150 Speaker 4: fix your adult child's relationship heartbreak, consider instead offering your 81 00:05:31,190 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 4: loving presence in ways like these. Invite them to lunch, dinner, 82 00:05:35,620 --> 00:05:39,440 Speaker 4: or dessert, somewhere they've been wanting to try. Find and 83 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:43,540 Speaker 4: suggest a nature hike together. Have them over to watch 84 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:47,030 Speaker 4: a show or sports game you both enjoy. If they're 85 00:05:47,070 --> 00:05:50,940 Speaker 4: far away, send them something soothing like socks, slippers, or 86 00:05:50,980 --> 00:05:54,719 Speaker 4: a delivery dinner. Interact with them the same way you 87 00:05:54,800 --> 00:06:00,099 Speaker 4: always have, with love, joy, and interest in them. Ask, 88 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:06,510 Speaker 4: do you want to talk? And respect their wishes. Further reading, 89 00:06:07,070 --> 00:06:11,470 Speaker 4: Psalm 147.3 Psalm 55.22 Psalm 23. 90 00:06:18,460 --> 00:06:20,990 Speaker 1: If you're looking to grow in prayer or start your 91 00:06:21,029 --> 00:06:22,890 Speaker 1: day with your heart focused on the right things, search 92 00:06:22,930 --> 00:06:25,290 Speaker 1: for Your Daily Prayer in your favorite podcast app and 93 00:06:25,310 --> 00:06:49,140 Speaker 1: be sure to follow the show So you get a 94 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:52,299 Speaker 1: new prayer delivered straight to you each morning. 95 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,870 Speaker 3: Hey friends, it's Kelly from Life Audio. We just launched 96 00:07:02,930 --> 00:07:06,609 Speaker 3: something new. It's called The Good Word, our free weekly 97 00:07:06,670 --> 00:07:09,550 Speaker 3: newsletter built for people who want to go a little 98 00:07:09,590 --> 00:07:15,420 Speaker 3: deeper in their faith. Thank devotionals, guided prayers, curated podcast recommendations, 99 00:07:15,580 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 3: and a little community all in one place. No ads, 100 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:21,520 Speaker 3: just good content. This one means a lot to us. 101 00:07:21,900 --> 00:07:24,680 Speaker 3: We built the good word based on the audience survey 102 00:07:24,900 --> 00:07:27,120 Speaker 3: so many of you filled out a few months back. 103 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:29,980 Speaker 3: You told us what you wanted and we listened. So 104 00:07:30,020 --> 00:07:32,960 Speaker 3: thank you truly for helping us shape this. Head to 105 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:35,580 Speaker 3: the link in the show notes and join our community today. 106 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:36,780 Speaker 3: We'd love to have you.