First, let me thank all of my readers who kept coming back during the last month. I’ve been going through some changes, and it has interfered with my ability to write here and communicate elsewhere online as well. Let me clarify. It has not affected my ability, but it has affected my time as well as my peace of mind to some degree.

The only thing in my life that could demand that much of my attention; the only concern that could disrupt my life and/or peace is my son. Nothing else bothers me. Nothing else would cause me to even consider worrying about it, because I know that God’s got me. And it’s not like I don’t trust God with regard to my son. Quite the opposite is true. However, this is just one of those things where I am just too close to the person and situation, not to be affected.

The Prodigal Son Returns

Luk 15:14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
Luk 15:15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
Luk 15:16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
Luk 15:17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
Luk 15:18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
Luk 15:19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
Luk 15:20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
Luk 15:21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
Luk 15:22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put [it] on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on [his] feet:
Luk 15:23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill [it]; and let us eat, and be merry:
Luk 15:24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

Obviously, I do see some comparisons in my son and the son of this parable. Now, to be sure, my son has not spent an inheritance on riotous living. However, there are areas in which he has “spent” opportunities afforded to him by making some impulsive choices.

Teenagers tend to be somewhat impulsive, but in my son’s case, it may be something that he cannot directly control. So I am in a period of discovery right now, trying to get an accurate assessment of what exactly is going on with my child.

In the interim of my discovery of both legal and medical information, my son has been away. I was blessed to get him into a program called Outward Bound, which he had to volunteer for, and/or agree to go. This program helps teens that are struggling with different issues.

I’m hoping that despite missing me fiercely, he did take advantage of the opportunity afforded for him in this program, which was free for 21 days. Like the prodigal, he’s joined himself to a citizen of a “foreign country”, in the form of his counselors out there, and in being out in the Keys camping and canoeing in this cool weather we’ve been having.

He’s in a state of want because of the famine of my presence. The fact that I’m not there with him, and this is the longest period of time we’ve ever been separated, has been hard on him.

It took the experience of getting dirty; it took some measure of extremes, like having to root around among pigs looking to be fed for the prodigal to come to his senses. It took this low point of separation from his father and all that was familiar to him, for him to appreciate it, and accept some accountability for his poor decisions.

Likewise, part of the training that my son is getting involves accountability and responsibility. Yes, he’s out there for three weeks with 10 other boys, and no showers, so in essence, they are probably smelling like pigs, or worse, although I must say that the cool weather has probably been beneficial in lessening the effects of the hygiene issue.

Now, he’s at the point where he has to rise and come back to me. He has to take the skills he’s learned out there, like teamwork and so forth, and utilize them to get back to the main road from the Gulf of Mexico, through the Everglades. In order to get back to me, he has to work with his teammates, because they can’t get back to their families if they don’t find their way back to the pickup point.

I’ve been to 2 of the parent meetings, and I have been doing my homework, in an effort to make the home environment more conducive to the principles he’s learning, so that he can continue to move forward in them when he returns.

Making these changes and doing this homework has been quite stressful, because there’s so much I need to do both at home, getting his school straight, as well as other services he may need to properly assist him in moving forward.

Nevertheless, like the prodigal’s father, I welcome him home with open arms, holding nothing in the past against him. I am ready to celebrate because he succeeded in getting through this program, when it didn’t appear, at first report, that he’d make it through.

So I am happy, because he has succeeded in this; whether or not he achieved every objective. The fact that he made it all the way through 21 days without me is pretty major for him, because we are so close, and he barely made it through 1 week away from me in scouts 3 years ago.

I am so thankful to God that he had this opportunity; that he’s learned some new things, and most of all, for all the new information I have learned, which is actually solving some riddles and questions from the past as well as present. It took some seemingly unfavorable incidents to begin the flow of information, understanding and assistance, but I’m thinking now that it was worth it.

Because of those situations, which stressed me out so much before; my understanding has increased and I am enabled to parent better, and help my son to see himself succeeding. It has allowed me to see a way to give my son hope about himself and his future.