For the Heartbroken Mother

Is your heart broken for your child today? If so, there is a storm of emotions pouring over you, through you, entangling you even.  Disappointment, fear, anger, embarrassment, panic, confusion.When we are hurting for our children, all else seems to fade away. We forget all about the new paint color for the bathroom and the trip we were planning. The frustrations over the price of gas or the coworker that irritates us disappear into the mess of our pain.We would endure all forms of inconvenience, any type of pain or suffering to make our child whole. Whether a body racked with pain or a hard heart wondering down the prodigal path, we want healing. Our hearts desire life for them. Not just existence, but real living.You and I have lived long enough and walked our own imperfect journey far enough that we have wisdom that came with regret.  More than anything we want to impart that wisdom to our children to keep them from the same painful messes. We are well and healthy and we desperately want our young child to have that precious gift too.Imagine a huge picture window in your living room. Suddenly, you hear a loud thud as a beautiful bluebird flies into the glass. To your horror, the bird flies away only to do the same thing. Over and over the bird hits the glass. You wish for one moment that you were a bird so that you could tell this bird to "stop!"We don't want our children to hurt. Our hearts ache for them to be healed, body and spirit. We scream out against the path that brings destruction into their lives.We lose all dignity as we plead and beg. Frantically, we make attempts to fix it, fix them. Desperate for wholeness for the one we have loved, nurtured, and sacrificed; we see nothing else.We are not alone in or pain.  Our heavenly Father, the only perfect father loves us deeply, fiercely. That being true, he has watched us stray as his heart was breaking. After all, we are his children, the ones he has loved and nurtured.  These children of ours are his. He grieves with us, desperately wanting them to choose life, real life.So what can we do?Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.  - Psalm 62:8We can pour out our broken hearts to him, knowing he understands, knowing that he is our refuge. We can trust him knowing that he loves our children more than we do, better than we do.As we are tempted to seek answers and control, God simply invites us to pour out our hearts to him.  He is a good Father.