I am a new member to this group. Thank you all for being here. I hope to find strength as the Lord leads me through this difficult time.
I am in the same place as Ishallwearp- trying to leave it in God's hands-but the pain is soooooooo great for me. My husband is sad as well, so between the two of us things are quite depressing around here.
Our ED has totally removed herself from our family. It has been almost a year since we saw her. She got married last Sept.-told us not to come-moved to a new state and never let us know-changed her phone number, has had a baby and we do not even know exactly when it was born, what sex it is, what the name is, etc.... :( It is our first grandchild, and we have no knowledge of any of the details. A friend of mine told me to make a 'God Box'. She said to decorate the box-make it really pretty. She said to put our daughter in the box everyday-as many times in each day that I need to. She told me to leave her with God. That only He can touch her heart.
I try to be as positive as I possibly can, but then there are days like yesterday when nothing seems to help. My daily devotional is great, but I can't seem to stay under God's guidance. My 'feelings' take over, the sorrow is just so strong. It is the "I just can't believe this has happened to our family" thought that keeps running through my mind. When I read how other parents have endured this pain for YEARS-it kills me! I cannot understand how I am going to last for years in this pain. I have been given thte information about a SoZo ministry and maybe that is where God is leading me to get some healing.
I look forward to hearing from anyone from this group. Thank you all.

Hello tkmalin, I am also new to this group, but have been going through this estrangement experience for quite a while. It graduated from adolescent rebellion to young adult rejection.
I think your idea of a God box is very good. Jesus is our only hope in any of this. He is the one who really knows our children and what is going through their heads. I know what it is to lose contact with a grandchild also. It is like having your life's purpose and dream die right in front of you. Someone else takes them away, and if you do ever see them, they don't even know who you are.
I just encourage you to stay close to the Lord, because He is our only hope. I try to find things to be grateful for even in the midst of the pain. I know that my grandchild is safe and well cared for, and I am grateful for that. I know that my son is healthy and employed, and I don't believe that he is on drugs or drinking to excess. I am grateful for that. I don't know what is going to happen in the future, or if I will ever have any more happy times with my son or my grandson, but I know that God is aware of all of this and is working. Even when I don't see it, I know He is working.

Welcome to those who have recently joined us here. We need one another.

Our ED left our home about a 1 1/2 years ago with people (bf and family) she met in a church. You would think church college groups were safe zones. They became her enablers and she had to lie and make up reasons that she needed to leave home at age 20. These enablers let her go and she has continued to move on to other ones.

However our estrangement journey started it is a sad one that only God can fix. I am thankful that we have the Lord and this group. This is where our strength is.

In response to lindajoan: Our son also began his estrangement from us at church with his girlfriend and her family. I had trusted them because we thought they were on the same page as we were about the two being too physically close especially at the age of 15. When my son's girlfriend became pregnant with the help of our son at the age of 18, I thought that both families would deal with the situation as Christian brothers. This did not occur at all. Her family simply decided to take the child and left us completely out. Our son, wanting to be close to his child broke with us and ignored our feelings completely.
Then the girl broke off her engagement to our son, and when he found another girlfriend, the baby's mother and my son agreed that he would not be a part of the baby's life. This broke my heart, but I had no say and no rights.
One of the hardest things was forgiving the girl and her parents, not because she got pregnant, but because they wouldn't even talk to us once about our grandchild. They wouldn't even talk to the pastor and left the church. I no longer feel that the Church is a safe place to be, because the people there are sometimes only there for social reasons and not because they want to follow the teachings of Christ. I have learned this too late as I only have one son, and this situation has lead him away from the Lord as well. I still have faith in the Lord, but I don't have a lot of faith in his children.

Tikva It is so true. During the past 1 and 1/2 years of estrangement we have been very disappointed at the way some people from churches have enabled our ED without even getting to know us or ask any questions of her lies. As my DH and I say, "They all had there own agendas". People do things for their own selfish motives many times.

With that being said, the ONLY ONE we can truly count on is the Lord. People (Christian or non) can let us down but Jesus Never Fails.