I hurt with and for you. The pain seems inescapable. We have to hold on to our faith. When I let my guard down, I go downhill fast, but when I keep my eyes on the Lord, He comforts and brings peace. I find this group so helpful because everyone here has experienced the same pain. We pray for each other and offer encouragement, and words of wisdom. I'll be praying for you and your daughter.

My heart breaks when I hear another estrangement has taken place. My mind goes back how broken I felt and would not wish the heartbreak on anyone. I am so sorry this has happened to you. God is your only answer. When you are the weakest, he will be the strongest. You will come to be aware of his presence more then ever before. Trust in him. He sees your every tear, knows your every thought . He will see you through . God Bless You and keep in mind,,,,,, we all are praying for you .

Mimi....There is book that was written by Barbara Johnson in the 90's called Stick a Geranium in Your Hat and Be Happy. I was going thru a very difficult time. I was in Bible college at the time and my es was getting married and I wasn't invited to the wedding. The Dean of the College, who was one of my instructors, suggested I might want to read that book. I remember beginning to read it and saying to myself, "This book is so light, why did he recommend it?" LOL That book was such a blessing to me and so much stayed with me throughout all these years.

Don't know if you ever read it, but Barbara Johnson had been through quite a bit with her children and reading it was very inspirational. Just a thought as your wrote about your daughter..

Mimi, I am so sorry to hear of this painful situation with your daughter. Keep praying for her. We join you in prayer and understanding support.

People in this world will let you down, in time her friend will no doubt let her down. Pray that when that happens the Lord will start to tug on her heart until it leads her down the road back to you and back to church. I ran from the Lord for over a decade. I was hurt by my church, and by my mom not siding with me. Even after that church fell apart I was too jaded to see my way back. I got very hostile toward my mom over trying to get me to get back in church, I know I caused her pain. One day the Lord troubled my sleep for 21 nights in a row, he stirred my dreams and took me down a dark emotional road, before long I found myself praying and weeping and desperate to find a church. We'd moved away and while I talked to my mom on the phone, I didn't feel like I could share all that stuff with her. Before long I reached out to a few churches of my faith, one called back within minutes. He was kind, even after I said I was a backslider and know how they are treated, he assured me that I'd never feel that backslider shaming at their church. He encouraged me, prayed for me, invited me, and that following Sunday I did go. My husband was a little surprised when I said I'm going to church on Sunday but you know what? He got up, got dressed and he went with me and my daughter. We felt right away that we were home although we'd never been there before.

I waited 5 weeks to tell my mom, I got rebaptized because I felt like it was necessary for me due to the sinful life I'd been living, it was the right choice for me personally. When I told my mom that we'd gotten back in church 5 weeks ago and that I had been saved and baptized again, she burst into tears on the phone. She had no IDEA that I was even close to that point. I didn't want her to know until I knew I was ready to commit. I didn't want to disappoint her and didn't want to hear her plead with me if I changed my mind. Instead, it was a blessing to her to know that me and my family were back in church.

Your daughter may not tell you when the Lord starts to deal with her, he might do it slowly and she might run from it for a while, but know that you planted the seeds by having her in church, and trust the Lord to water then when she opens a window. She's young and she's trying to rebel and this world makes things look really skewed and cool but soon all the glamour and luster start to wear off and those who've had God in their lives will eventually hear him beckon them back into the ark. Trust in him to keep and guide her.

I pray that your situation gets better soon.

Thanks for sharing Lucy. Often, I wonder if the Lord is dealing with my ec. although I see no evidence. You give me more hope... God does work in mysterious ways.

Lucy, Your testimony is beautiful. Thank you for sharing it. This is what I pray for my ED. May she go back to God first so she can truly come back to her family with a repentant heart. God bless you.

Lucy, thankyou so much for pouring your heart out to mimi. Your post made me want to cry. I pray for the day my daughter might feel the Lord stirring in her heart, and bow her knee to Him in gratitude and reverence.

mimi, we on this site understand your heartache. We can each remember the last day we saw or held the child who chose to walk away from us, and from God. We will always be here to pray for you, and support you whenever you need it....

Feeling your pain and keeping you in prayer.

Mimi, we understand the hurt and stand with you in prayer for God to heal the rift. This group is wonderfully encouraging! Lucy, thank you for your story - what a gift as Mother's Day nears and having a child who has run from the Lord feels more like a reminder of how I've failed as a mother than as a holiday to celebrate.

Thank you for all your support. I'm sad about my daughter but the pain is not as bad as it was in the beginning. God has made it bearable. Thank you for everything. Praise the almighty lord. Happy Mother's Day everyone.

Sorry for your pain but your right God does make it bearable,and hope there more good days than bad for you.

I want to thank God for allowing me some time to speak with my EC. We were able to share a little time over tea. I believe God is working on her daily and he is so merciful to me when he decided to give me some time with her. Seeing her and being able to talk without confrontation made my Mother's Day the best. I continue to pray that she finds the lord again. It is a process with her but nothing is impossible for our lord. Thank you all for your prayers.

That is wonderful Mimi. So glad to hear you had this time together.

I can see why your Mother's Day was "the best". God really is faithful and it sounds like you handled it well and avoided any confrontation. Now, the door is open and I pray for it to continue.....