Is It Really (The End) of Your Story?

When my teen’s issues were finally under control and healing was taking place, I felt a sigh of relief that it was finally over.  The worry, the pain, the brokenness, and the crises that were displayed over and over again, were a thing of the past.

I could close the book like the end of the story and move on with my life.  However, God had other ideas.  He may have even laughed while I pondered those thoughts sitting under the tree enjoying my Green Tea with honey.

You see, when one book is closed, another is opened.  For me, the book that was closed were the hardships, the struggles and the daily uncertainty of how each crisis was going to end.

Time has passed since then and much has transpired.  We are finally seeing God move in a huge way with our teen who is less than a year away from being an adult.  For some reason however, God saw it as perfect timing to open the next book.

I have come to learn that the things we go through in life, we often shelve or pack away in the back of our minds the way we box things up in the attic.  From time to time, something will trigger a memory and we recall those things up to the surface.  Some things we enjoy to remember, to reflect, and to learn from.  Other things we try to push back into the box and quickly close.

Every once in a while, God likes to take those bad things out of the box.  He uses the painful experiences, the deep hurts, the memories we want to forget, and reuses them for His purposes.  This was exactly what God chose for me.  My hopes of moving on were not exactly what God had in mind.

This new book is one that parents can relate to.  It will continue the healing for the family while reaching out and ministering to new families going through their most difficult crisis right now.  We as parents who have gone through our trials of suffering, can meet the needs of other families that are hurting and alone.  Maybe you had a teen with a drug addiction or maybe a teen with an eating disorder.  You understand the cries of help from parents being confronted on those same issues.

How then, can you respond and support them in their journey?  By sharing the struggles of when you were in their place as a parent of a teen in crisis.  You have experiences, information and knowledge in which they are still wondering how will they get through their crisis.  You can be a valuable tool in their life by imparting wisdom, educating them and praying for them.  You can be the beacon of hope that they need to survive in the coming days, months or even years.

God could fix those families on His own without our help. But what if He is saying to you today, “I want you to help them”.

Today, be the blessing to another family.  Be the emotional and spiritual support they need.  Open  your book of vulnerability to them and allow God to use you to minister to them.  It may the only words they hear that gives them the hope they need to get through each day.