Navigating Teenage RebellionSample

Day 8: Grace Upon Grace

The humbling part of parenting a rebellious teen is that we begin to question ourselves. Did we teach them the truth correctly? Were we terrible parents? Did we cause their rebellious choices? Were we too hard on them? Too easy on them? Too many boundaries? Not enough boundaries? In trying to find a reason for their behavior—something we could point to in blame—the enemy came to rob, kill, and destroy our joy. 

The best thing about coming to the end of our rope is that we found ourselves on our knees crying out to God. Matthew 11:28-30 became my theme. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”I needed rest for my weary, confused soul. I needed grace for my children and grace for myself. I clung to the verse “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”2 Corinthians 12:9

I also claimed the truth of John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”I knew that God loved our teens more than we did. He is a trustworthy God. I was weak and needed His strength.

In the end, we learned to extend grace. We could not cast a stone. We needed grace and we needed to extend grace. I fell more in love with the sinners, even as I was still angry about the sin. I learned grace and compassion as I watched them struggle with their sin and their lack of understanding. I don’t really believe that any of us try to get it wrong and totally mess up our lives. We are just blinded. We need wisdom, vision, and redemption accompanied by grace and love.