FJWL_02:143
         Every test, every trial, every hardship that comes your way is known by Me. Every storm that arises on the horizon and beats upon you is eventually blown away by the same wind that brought it. No trouble ever lasts, but it will test your barque. So you must keep your hand on the rudder and not let go no matter what happens. Know that I will bring you through, and that eventually the storm will pass.
         This is a test that many parents go through. These are rough seas, the teen years--difficult for the parents and difficult for the teens, when they begin to launch out from the shore in their own frail barque and discover that the ocean is not the same as the shoreline and the safe havens and sheltered bays they are used to, and they begin to learn what life is all about.
         Your love and counsel can be the lighthouse on the shore that can guide them through the rocks and warn of the reefs. They must begin to practice what you have taught them, to steer clear of the reefs, to learn how to head their vessel into the storm, when to put down their anchor, when to put down their sails, and to wear their lifejacket, which is the Word. Even if they are washed overboard, the Word will keep them afloat.
         When they begin to launch out to sea by themselves and to make their own decisions and they come to stormy waters, this teaches them to look to Me. So warn of the reefs. Shine the spotlight on the rocks and the dangers. Tell them that these are some of the storms of life--only some of the first, and there will be more. But each one must decide to follow Me, to heed the warnings lest he be shipwrecked, and to understand that to ignore the lighthouse can bring disaster.



Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family