Hanging on for Dear Life

For Hurting Parents—A Survival Toolkit of Biblical Help and Hope

There’s nothing exciting about being forced into the fraternity of hurting parents, but once there, the question becomes one of survival – for you, your young adult offspring, your family and the relationships you all share. How do you deal with the issues and heartache that accompany the drama? And if you’re a Christian, how do you reconcile your understanding of who God is with the situation in which you find yourself? For most parents, understandably, the question becomes, “How can I get through to my son/daughter?” But the question that really needs to be asked may be, “How can I get a grip on myself so I don’t do things that make matters worse?”

This book is a toolkit filled little by little—one tool, one difficulty at a time. With these tools, the Lord Jesus Christ upheld me, firmly but tenderly showed me options that lay before me, and helped me navigate—giving me fresh perspective—in the midst of heart-wrenching challenges. I shudder to think how I might have responded absent His help. Amazingly, often unbeknown to me, at the same time the Lord was helping me, He was wonderfully at work in the lives of our young adult children and our family as a whole.

My toolkit is something I wish I’d never needed, but over time, it has become a treasure for which I am deeply grateful. I humbly share my treasure with you.