Years ago, our oldest daughter, at 17, decided she was going to leave home and live with her boyfriend in another city. She was turning her back on her family, on her friends, on godly counsel, and most of all, God Himself! This crushed us. There were lots of hurt and tears. Her four siblings were hurt and angry. They knew how wrong this was and it crushed their spirits. We prayed together, we kept hoping for a changed heart, and we sought godly counsel.
God was teaching us. As the weeks and months passed, we hoped and prayed she would come home. Initially, in our thinking, for her to come home she needed to be repentant and willing to live by “our rules”. But as we prayed, the Lord was saying, “All I want you to do is love her. I’ll change her heart”.
A few months later she called and said she wanted to come home but was still determined to plan her wedding. There was no repentance or submission, but we loved her. Later that year, they did marry but our relationship, while cordial, was just surface. We continued to pray for repentance and restoration.
Two and half years later I received a letter from my daughter, who now lived in another state, and she began to lay out all she had done wrong and asked for forgiveness. I wanted to call her but I thought my response deserved more than a phone call. We drove 17 hours to surprise her. We had lunch together and I asked her why she wrote the letter. She said if she didn’t make things right with her father that she knew God wouldn’t bless her with a family. I told her, through the tears, “we absolutely forgive you.” After a three-hour lunch, we got in the car and made the 17-hour drive home.
Two weeks later she called as said she was pregnant! She is now the mom of 13-year-old twin girls and a 10-year-old son. God Restores!
“The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him.”
Lamentations 3:22-25
Mike and Beth Jones
Boerne, Texas
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