Crossroads (An Excerpt)

Crossroads (An Excerpt from Divine Prayers for Despairing Parents)

This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls…” (Jeremiah 6:16)

My child stands at several crossroads in life. First, he glances down the road of faith. Next, he stares at the path of peer pressure. “Stop” and “Go” flash in my son’s intersection of life. Each decision will affect his future.

I realize he must feel torn between the two corridors of life. Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, he considers both ways. I attempt to signal yellow cautions in the moments he turns to look at me. I coax. We argue. I post Scripture on the fridge. He shrugs. Scarecrow friends point to an opposite direction.

Today he cares little about the distant mirage of “the future.” Parental fears engulf my thoughts. I recall, Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it (Proverbs 22:6). I attempt to squelch the worry. The faith training my child received will not falter.

Suddenly, I comprehend my own crossroad. Will I trust or fear? Trust does not come naturally for me when I lose control of my child’s life-changing decisions.

Crossroads create opportunities to trust God. I choose trust.

Whispers
Dear Father, my child stands at the crossroads of life. I pray for ­­­__________to search for the ancient paths of faith. Father, guide ___________ heart to where the good way is and then keep my child on that path. Father, may __________find rest for his/her soul. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.