Joy Comes in the Morning!
“Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5
I spent the past weekend in the beautiful city of Greenville, South Carolina for the Allume conference. I think of it as a women’s retreat for bloggers. It’s definitely not like any other blog conference I have been to. It’s heavy on worship and seeing yourself through Christ’s eyes and light on SEO and social media tips.
And it was exactly what I needed.
It’s been a month since our daughter left and the grief and shock are just beginning to lift. The hundreds of emails and comments you all have sent have lifted my heart like you can’t even imagine. I read them all and share them with my family and we pray for those of you who are going through a similar situation.
![IMG_1158[1]](https://50.87.248.66/~thepenp8/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/IMG_11581.jpg)
At the conference I got to spend time with dear friends that know me so well. They have prayed over me and cared for me as I walked through this difficult time. What a gift it was to be with them in person and just leave it all behind for a few days. We prayed, we worshiped, we laughed ourselves silly. I even danced. Hip hop. Yes, I am a Diva-in-Training.
I came home with a fresh outlook and today, for the first time in a month, I don’t feel like I am dragging myself through the house pretending to be thinking about something else instead of the grief of our situation.. I truly am finding good in the sadness and I am excited to share the joy with my family and give them something to do besides be steeped in sorrow.
One thing I have realized is that I can’t let someone else’s decisions affect my joy. It would have sounded impossible to me a month ago, but I have learned that I don’t have to let even something this devastating, a break in one of my most valued relationships, tear me away from living a life filled with glory and joy.
I know. Easier said than done. Whew! It’s definitely a process.
I really, really, really want to give you the gift of knowing that you are not alone. In your trials and desperate situations, you are treasured. There is a God who cares about your deepest pain. There is One who you can always turn to.
And you know what? I care too. And so does my family and I am guessing a whole lot of other people.
As I prepare for the week ahead, filled with activity and appointments, I know that I have a source of peace and comfort. Look around you, it’s there!
For instance, just a few minutes ago one of my boys asked me the funniest question and we both laughed so hard. That is the good stuff. My three daughters at home and I have become so much closer through this, isn’t that sweet? My marriage is becoming a testimony of strength through hard times. There is so much good in the bad.
Let us pray for you if you need it. Leave a comment here and many others will pray too. I just know it.
Be blessed!!!!
How did I miss this? I knew you had mentioned times were difficult and that you were hurting… I somehow missed the post about your daughter. I’m so sorry I didn’t know when I asked you if all of your kids are still at home.
Praying for you!
And here’s my prayer request for anyone who reads this: We need God to provide financially. I’m angry at God. I’m tired of begging and praying. I’m tired of the silence.
Praying for you Sharon. It’s so difficult going through financial need, and the solution is almost never instantaneous. Truly praying for you and your family, and your broken heart.
Oh sweet Sharon, I am so sorry you guys are still struggling. Please know that I have been praying for you and will continue to do so!
I too will be praying for you.
This sermon may be a help and encouragement. It’s one of my favorites. You have to forward it up to 4:55 before the actual sermon starts and you have to have Real Player. It’s an old classic!
http://www.johnnythebaptist.org/campmeeting/Mystery3.ra
In Nehemiah, we’re told that the joy of the Lord is our strength and it’s so true. When we have underlying joy, there is power and strength to stay focused on the Lord and press on, even though it may not always be easy. Fortunately, that joy comes from knowing Jesus and isn’t something we have to muster up, work out, or figure out. Continuing to pray for you.
I too am going through the same pain and loss as Lisa. It has been almost a year and a half since my 18 year old son left home to live with my mother who has never supported our Christian parenting values. It is so hard! He left at a time when our family needed each other so badly, my husband was just diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and we have been in deep financial trouble for the last 5 years. My marriage is not getting stronger, we are not leaning more to God we are not coming together as a family and a couple. I am in Christian counseling but the anger is so hard to deal with. Please pray for us!
Michele, this is a link to a broadcast and transcript for a testimony of how God worked in one woman’s desperate situations. I heard it for the first time at least a year ago, and it was re-aired recently. It changed my life the first time I listened to it. I pray you will find peace with God. He wants the best for you in all of the relationships you listed, and you can trust Him. (Trust is so hard, isn’t it!). Here’s that link. https://www.reviveourhearts.com/radio/revive-our-hearts/god-your-most-desperate-situation-1/
Continued prayers for you & your family, Lisa!
I so glad to hear the grief and shock are beginning to lift. I’m still praying for your relationship with your daughter and extended family.
Is the expectation in your family that all children will stay home until they are married? From what I’ve read it sounds like that is what is expected. Did you live at home until you were married? Some of us did, some didn’t but we are all equally as close to our parents. Have any of your adult children gone to college, or have jobs outside the home? Our parents expected us to either go to college or get a job, which could include joining the military, which 4 of us did. I hope down the road you’re reconciled with your daughter and parents, as that is what Christ calls us to.
Peace,
Sally
Sally, the expectation is that they would talk to us before they leave and say goodbye to their siblings. Ideally that we would all work together to send them off in a manner that is beneficial to all of us. We don’t have any hard and fast rules about when to leave and the grief is not about her not being gone. It is from the deception, complete break in communication, involvement of our extended family and total rejection from our daughter. I really want to be clear, I KNOW the kids have to leave. I WANT that for all of them. But having it happen in this way has been a devastation that we are all having to recover from. Lisa~
Thanks. I can understand that.
I have a friend whose daughter left on her 18th birthday, with no good-bye, no warning, nothing. It has been over 10 years and the daughter still is not in contact with them. This is a family who are non church goers, very liberal. So you never know sometimes. It is hard to understand.
Lisa I heard a podcast this week on Revive Our Hearts that I think really speaks to your situation. I heard the same one when it was previously aired, and it has truly changed my life. It is about forgiveness and blessing those who curse you and honoring your parents…or at least those were the things I took out of it. But basically, it’s about letting God work in your most desperate situations. I am so thankful to read this testimony about how God is moving in your life and the life of your family. Thank you so much for being vulnerable on your blog. Here is the link–you can also read a transcript. There is also a part two to the message, which can be found on the same website. https://www.reviveourhearts.com/radio/revive-our-hearts/god-your-most-desperate-situation-1/
Thank you for sharing your heart and your life. I loved your comment, “You are not alone.” It isn’t always easy to remember this, but it is true.
THANK YOU.
I am so sad to hear of others going through this, yet also comforted. My daughter will be 19 soon. She has been in spiritual warfare for at least over a year. We took her out of public school after middle school and did the best we could for her. I always told her she had potential, but I also made mistakes as a parent. She got accepted to the best Biblical college (by God’s work, only.) After she graduated in May she continued the downward spiral. She rejected the college, she moved out of our home because she didn’t want to live by our rules, and although she moved in with my parents, she is causing them grief and heartache, too. We had private investigation involved with one guy she was involved with. Now she is with an ungodly, controlling guy who also has a child. We’re finding out she has been lying to, taking advantage of, and manipulating almost everyone she talks to. But as others have said, the biggest heartache is from the betrayal. I was a single teen mother when I had her. I finished school, worked, graduated magna cum laude from a university, took her to church, purity seminars, Christian concerts, talked with her, and so on, and so on, all to better OUR lives. I bawled my eyes out again last night because she was my world since she was in my womb at 15 years old. I told my husband (who adopted her) that it feels like she’s gone, like my daughter just disappeared (even though I know where she is physically.) I think back and wonder which good times were genuine and which were a façade. I ask God why I tried my hardest to raise her to follow His path, she chose to seemingly jump off the cliff. I get sick and plead with Him to think her rebellion could last a long time or be devastating. I’ve tried to pick myself up and take my younger 2 children and husband to events and activities to keep busy, but feel the stabbing pain again when one of her siblings mentions her and I think of what she’s missing, how they’re missing her. I’ve begun praying more earnestly for God to send Jesus back for us soon. Please pray for us- my daughter A, my husband E, my other children, my parents & my sisters who have been involved and supportive of her and me all these years. We’re all tired of hurting. Bless you and I’ll be praying for yours and all the other prodigals I know of.