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Seventeen Revisited

Like most other people, I had a few teenage rebellious episodes. These are things that I am not proud of and don't share much - preferring to share how God's grace changed those bad behaviors into a better way of life. But, last night I had a revisit of my teenage years.
When I was a teenager, my mom was under a tremendous amount of stress. She was the sole bread winner in our family, dealing with husband issues and teenagers. Her way of dealing with us was if we behaved we could go out and do things, if not, we were on restriction. She didn't have the time or energy to deal or train teenagers ( I realize that now!).
One time she let me go to a neighboring town with the provision that I find a ride home since it was too far for her to drive to pick me up. Well, I was having so much fun and we were at a families house, I just stayed the night - without calling her! I was really in a lot of trouble when I got home.
Since I now have a 17 year old son, we are seeking the balance of freedom, responsibility, maturity etc. and since we have never done this (raised teenagers), we are all learning. Recently night our son worked until after 10:00 PM. We had arranged for he and a friend to attend a church lock in at a church about 45 minutes away. Since this church is in the country with dirt roads, etc., he has never driven to this church especially at night, I was a bit nervous. But realizing this was a good learning experience, we let him go. He called at 10:45 to let us know he was leaving work and headed to the church. Our calculations were that he should be there by 11:30. He was given instruction to call when he got to the church. We went on to bed knowing the phone would wake us up when he called. I awoke after 12:00 AM- no call. Laid awake awhile and finally called his cell phone - it was off. GRRRR! So, I laid there thinking all kinds of thoughts, where was he, was he safe, lost, broken down etc. then realized the best course of this late night anxiety session was to pray - asking God to keep him safe and protected and please bring it to his mind to call his mother! At 12:45 the phone did ring - he had made it to the church, but forgot to call when they first arrived, then they were in the middle of Bible study and he couldn't call until they were done! So there is so much to be thankful for, he is a good kid doing good things, freedom is how he will grow and mature etc, etc., etcl. but...will this Mama's heart ever stop worrying??

"...casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." I Peter 5:7
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  1. AnonymousJuly 28, 2008 at 5:30 PM

    What a sweet answer to prayer! I struggle with this teenage thing too. My oldest child, a son, is 14 We struggle with how much freedom to give him. I wish I could find more family integrated friendships for him but it just doesn't seem to work that way for most people.

    If you never read "The Power of a Praying Parent" do so. It's really wonderful : )

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