Here’s a true confession.  When I was in junior high, I was what could be called ‘boy crazy’.  I didn’t have a personal relationship with God and my dad wasn’t involved in my life.  My sister had had many boyfriends and I aspired to be like her.  My two closest friends were the same way and we would spend hours talking about the boys we liked.  We cried together and we laughed together.  It was fun even when we were broken-hearted over some boy.

My oldest daughter wasn’t ‘boy crazy’ but when she got a boyfriend, we loved talking about it.  Since I was her mom and we were both Christians, there were many conversations to have.

From the journal . . . . May 1989

Lord, I have things on my mind: Nikki, her boyfriend, and me. I think I’m too involved with Nikki’s relationship with her boyfriend because I want to know everything. She’s willing and we talk about it all the time. When I talked to Mark about my concern, he said, “That’s okay.  You’re supposed to be involved with our kids.”  That surprised me, coming from him.  During this time, Nikki and I had been talking about roles; what he should do and what she should do.  Now as I ponder, I think they should decide their own roles.  I want to just encourage her to be her.  She said that she should look more to You.  That certainly is a good sign.

And I Believe God Said:

Trust her to Me.  She’s entering into a closer relationship with Me.  I will teach her things that will seem hard to you, but they are for her own good.  My hand is on the boyfriend, as well. He’s in the same classroom. They both need to be more united with Me before they can truly know each other.  Trust Me.  I love them both more than you.  Encourage Nikki to walk closer to Me.  No matter what.  Don’t let up on that.  Whether she responds favorably or not, she needs to hear it.  With or without the boyfriend, she needs to seek Me.

Isaiah 26:3:2-4 You will keep in perfect peace
    all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!
⁴ Trust in the Lord always for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.
James 1:2-4 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. ³ For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. ⁴ So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
Matt 6:3 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.

Lord, I know that is right, but if I push her to You, won’t that make her rebel?

She needs to know that you are uncompromising in knowing that I am the best thing for her life.  Even though no one can force another to choose Me – the truth is, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life for all.  It’s not a matter of one’s opinion.  It’s truth, like the body will die without food.

John 14:6  Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

Lord.  Thank you.  Amen and Amen.

That was a fun and beneficial time for our mother-daughter relationship and God was very much involved.  The boyfriend wasn’t ‘The One’ and there were tears shed by both of us.  It wasn’t the only heartbreak we had and certainly not the last, but God has always been there.  Parents suffer when their children are hurting as surely as they rejoice in their joys. It’s all part of parenting and it never ends.  However, God is still the Best thing for them and we need to continue to trust our kids to Him!