I enjoy the TV show, The Biggest Loser.  I find it inspirational to see people make so many changes in their lives.  You walk with them each week as they face their weaknesses. You see them work really, really hard to overcome many hurdles.  I feel like we as parents in pain are in a type of Biggest Loser program.  Our struggle is with our children. They bring out all our weaknesses and faults. When we face our inner pain it can bring many changes in our lives, too.  It takes a lot of very hard work, patience, perseverance and endurance to overcome –  just like the contestants on the Biggest Loser. They fight every day to not give up. So do we.

Hard Work.  Perseverance.  Endurance.  Courage. Inner strength.  Caring for myself.  Never giving up. We need these – more than we can imagine.

We must accept the hard experiences being our child’s parent brings into our lives as therapeutic workouts planned by our heavenly trainer who is committed  to getting us in shape.  We need to listen to Him and do whatever he tells to do, so we can achieve the emotional and spiritual fitness we’re in such desperate need of.

And there’s something else. We need faith. Faith to believe that with God’s help we can make it.  Faith to believe we will be okay – and maybe one day our child will be, too. But we can’t wait for that. We need to begin our training today. There’s a saying that goes something like this, “Don’t put off to tomorrow what you can do today.”  That way when our child is ready, we’ll be ready for a time of reconciliation and restoration.

Stop a minute and think. Sit quietly and listen. What is your Heavenly Trainer telling you to do today?

Is he saying:  Keep showing unconditional love? Stop enabling? Let go and let Him work? Write them a letter saying things you never get to say or think to say when you see them? Take one day at a time?  Stop worrying and trust Him more?  Go see a counselor or take your child to one (if they’re still in your home)?  Find a support group? Take care of yourself? Stop feeling guilty?  Remember that He is in control and you are not? Hmmmm – I wonder what you will hear?

This Bible verse encourages me, “. . . let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us . . . let us fix our eyes on Jesus  . . . so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”  (Hebrews 12: 1b, 2a & 3)