A patient and friend just left the office. Crying . . .

Her teenage son had just left home, accusing her and her husband of all sorts of things. Threw his clothes in a garbage bag and left. He’s only seventeen; too young and stupid to know that he’s an idiot. He’s left a wake of destruction in the path of his uninformed decision and he will pay a horrible price for his decision.

But my concern is mom and dad.

There is nothing that breaks your heart like your offspring rejecting you and what you believe in and live by. Worse is being accused of causing their lives to be a “hell on earth;” of not caring for them; of destroying their lives. I’ve been there . . .

The same passage that has been shared with me by several during this week as I’ve angsted over my son being in harm’s way in Kirkut came to mind as I was talking to this friend:

If you’ll hold on to me for dear life,” says God,
      “I’ll get you out of any trouble.
   I’ll give you the best of care
      if you’ll only get to know and trust me.
   Call me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times;
      I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party.
   I’ll give you a long life,
      give you a long drink of salvation!

I pointed her to Lord and life — the Lord who made and knows her son intimately and the life that He offers to her, even in the middle of her nightmare (and maybe because of her nightmare).

The trace of a smile that danced across her tightly drawn lips told me that she understood. That makes days like today bittersweet . . .