Hurting Parents
Happy families are all alike: every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
Margie M. Lewis with Gregg Lewis
July 1, 1980
In your church, how many hurting parents are there? Some are quite visible, with kids who have rejected their parents' authority and instruction and have, as a result, become "messed up." Other parents may be living with deep wounds which the congregation knows nothing about. As you look over the parents in your church, are you sensitive to what's going on between them and their children ?
Perhaps you, as a hurting parent, know more about the pain of raising children than anyone you know.
In searching for a book that would effectively help Christian leaders minister to parents experiencing this common crisis, we chose Hurting Parents (Zondervan Publishing, 1980) for two reasons. First, Hurting Parents doesn't dwell on the roots of parent-child conflict. It doesn't focus on the "What did we do wrong?" questions; rather, it offers understanding and direction for parents who are asking, "Where do we go from here?" Second, the hook is written by a parent well-acquainted with firsthand family conflict.
In the uncut manuscript, Margie M. Lewis shares her own story about a son who left home without a word, moved hundreds of miles away, and rejected any pleas to come home. In our excerpt we cautiously omitted this section in favor of a host of illustrations the author shared about other parents who were hurting even more than herself, and the insights they found through prayer and fellowship in caring communities.
Pain seems to be part of the job requirement for most parents. Parenthood begins with the gripping pain of labor and delivery. It continues as mothers and fathers vicariously experience every pain and hurt their children face-from scraped knees and bloody noses to disease and even death. As their offspring grow, parents suffer ...
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