Prodigal Parent Processናሙና

Losses

In Matthew 23:37, Jesus states, “…how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings…” As a parent of a prodigal, you have an endless amount of loss, and it has likely grown over time. You may have lost the relationship and precious time you thought you would have with the prodigal. You lost seeing them grow in God and utilizing their gifts for God. You lost the “Christian” family picture you imagined when they were born. You lost the possible sibling relationships you thought they would have.

You lost parts of your spouse as they give energy to your prodigal. You might have lost esteem, time, money, and reputation due to your prodigal. You have lost the general sense of “all is well” in your household. You have lost the holidays, birthdays, graduations, vacations, and special events that the prodigal may not attend, or if they do, they may ruin these events.

You will have loss. As you read, especially as you read through the books of the Prophets, like Isaiah, you continually hear God expressing his loss. He longed to provide for, guide, teach and protect them. 

God desires all of this for your prodigal as well. He is experiencing loss alongside of you. He designed them to serve Him. He shares the loss of time and celebration He could have had in this season of your child being a prodigal. 

You and your spouse have losses as your child chooses to be a prodigal. You will experience your losses differently because of your gender and personality, but you both have real losses, including losses in your marriage.

As a couple, I recommend you also have someone of the same gender that you can share your journey of being a prodigal parent with. Having someone outside your marriage to talk to can help you do some of you some honest processing of your feelings; hence, protecting your marriage from any further assault.