Dear Parents of Adult Children....

I carry a burden in my heart for you if you are a parent of an adult child. When my children were small and as they entered each new phase of their life over the years, no one could have told me that "adulthood" would be the most difficult phase of all to witness. Once they enter adulthood, you realize that your parental control slips and you must often sit by and witness choices that you would have advised against. I need to pause and say how much God has blessed me with both of my children - my daughter will admit when she has made a mistake and is not too proud to ask for prayer when needed. My son, still at home for now, prays almost daily with us and honors a decent bedtime hour in our home without us asking him to. Still, there are times Mike and I must sit back and let them workout the heartache and trials of day-to-day life. As I walked through a christian book store the other day, I found a book titled, "The Power of Praying for Your Adult Children", by Stormie O'Martian. I am usually not one to read books with prepared prayers but knowing that the author has adult children prompted me to buy the book. I'm still in the introduction of the book and already have found it to be full of wisdom and scripture that can be applied daily. She begins with a list of seven things every parent of an adult child needs to know. Here are the subtitles:
(1) You need to know it never ends
(2) You need to know you can't fix them.
(3) You need to know God can change everything.
(4) You need to know that you must stop blaming yourself.
(5) You need to know how to forgive (and how to ask for forgiveness).
(6) You need to know there is only one perfect parent.
(7) You need to know that you can wholeheartedly say, "For this adult child I prayed".

Of course, she expounds in great detail each subtitle in the list. I did not intend this post to be a sales pitch for a book but only to spark your interest if you are struggling with how and what to pray for your adult child in this season of his/her life. There will never be a time when we will be exempt from loving, caring, and praying for our children.