Latest / The Midlife Momma Podcast - Empty nest mom, Parenting adult children, Midlife transition, Christian mom / 231. When Your Adult Child Walks Away from God: Hope from Zach Williams’ Parents
Transcript
- 0:02[SPEAKER_01]: Christian parenting.
- 0:08[SPEAKER_01]: Hey mama, I'm Pamela Henkelman, certified emptiness coach and your listening to the mid-life Mama podcast.
- 0:15[SPEAKER_01]: This show is for Christian moms navigating the emptiness, learning how to let go with grace, set healthy boundaries, reconnected marriage, and step confidently into their God-given purpose.
- 0:26[SPEAKER_01]: Each week I'll coach you through this season with faith-building
- 0:30[SPEAKER_01]: on his conversations and practical tools that you can apply right away to your relationships and your life.
- 0:36[SPEAKER_01]: If this episode encourages you, I'd be grateful if you leave a quick rating and review.
- 0:41[SPEAKER_01]: It helps other moms find the support they need.
- 0:44[SPEAKER_01]: You'll find the link in the show notes and make sure you're following the podcast and let's get started.
- 0:50[SPEAKER_01]: Today's conversation is especially close to the heart for any mom carrying the heartbreak of a wandering child.
- 0:57[SPEAKER_01]: If you've ever laid awake wandering where your child is spiritually, replayed parenting decisions in your mind or prayed through seasons of silence, uncertainty, and unanswered questions you're not alone.
- 1:09[SPEAKER_01]: My guest today, Stephen Genie Williams, know this road personally.
- 1:13[SPEAKER_01]: As parents of Christian artists, sac Williams, they walk through more than a decade of heartbreak, uncertainty, and unwavering faith as they prayed for their son to find his way back to God.
- 1:24[SPEAKER_01]: And out of that lived experience came their beautiful 30-day devotional, God's heart for the prodigal, which offers a unique perspective, because it's include
- 1:33[SPEAKER_01]: not only Stephen Genie's journey as praying parents, but Zack's own reflections on his wandering and redemption.
- 1:39[SPEAKER_01]: This isn't just a conversation about prodigals, it's a conversation for the mom carrying the weight of loving someone who feels far from God.
- 1:47[SPEAKER_01]: And inside this devotional Stephen Genie offer biblical truth, practical encouragement, scripture, reflection, and guided prayer for parents learning how to trust God in the waiting.
- 1:57[SPEAKER_01]: And I know so many of you need this reminder
- 2:00[SPEAKER_01]: God is still at work, drawing your prodigal home.
- 2:03[SPEAKER_01]: Welcome, thank you.
- 2:07[SPEAKER_01]: I'm so honored to have you here today and I would love for you to share what led you to write God's heart for the prodigal and what this journey has looked like for your family.
- 2:18[SPEAKER_00]: for us, Zach mentioned to us about maybe writing a book, uh, devotional a few years ago after his book came out and we both thought, hey, no, we're on our way to write a book.
- 2:32[SPEAKER_00]: You know, as we went in his concerts and things, people would stop us afterwards and say, how did you guys do this?
- 2:39[SPEAKER_00]: How did you manage to hang on?
- 2:42[SPEAKER_00]: And it wasn't anything we did, we know that,
- 2:47[SPEAKER_00]: The more we thought about it, the more we thought, okay, maybe we do have something to share.
- 2:52[SPEAKER_00]: And only if it will help people, and that was our goal.
- 2:57[SPEAKER_00]: So tell me a little bit about Zach's journey.
- 3:02[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, I'll let him start.
- 3:04[SPEAKER_01]: Go ahead, Steve.
- 3:05[SPEAKER_02]: Hey, of course he was heavy into rock music after high school.
- 3:11[SPEAKER_02]: Got to live that lifestyle for many years, probably about 15 before he became back to the Lord.
- 3:20[SPEAKER_00]: He was raised in church.
- 3:22[SPEAKER_00]: He was raised to follow the Lord.
- 3:24[SPEAKER_00]: And of course, he'll tell you that he walked the aisle a few times, but he probably never really gave us
- 3:33[SPEAKER_00]: we really worked concerned until he got out of high school and that's when we saw him start to spiral.
- 3:41[SPEAKER_00]: He went four hours away to college and was on his own and that's when he taught himself to play guitar.
- 3:47[SPEAKER_00]: He went there on a basketball scholarship but he got injured the not before or the wait before a season started.
- 3:56[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, he was out for the season he had to richer and he had a roommate who had a guitar and he picked that guitar up and he started playing in rotten songs.
- 4:08[SPEAKER_00]: And that's where his music got it start, but in that...
- 4:13[SPEAKER_00]: He was not following the Lord at that time, and like Steve said, it took about 15 years before he ever came to the realization that what he was doing was killing himself, and he knew what he needed to do, and the Lord opened his eyes, and that's awesome.
- 4:28[SPEAKER_01]: So many moms assume that their prodigals choices are a reflection of their parenting.
- 4:33[SPEAKER_01]: What would you say to the mom carrying shame or believing that she failed?
- 4:38[SPEAKER_00]: We went through periods where we thought what in the world did we do wrong?
- 4:42[SPEAKER_00]: How did we do wrong?
- 4:43[SPEAKER_00]: Because we did everything we thought we could.
- 4:46[SPEAKER_00]: But everyone has their own has a choice.
- 4:49[SPEAKER_00]: Everyone has their own choice.
- 4:51[SPEAKER_00]: And just because they're out there not doing what you want them to do is not necessarily reflection on you.
- 4:59[SPEAKER_00]: It's their choices and what they hear inside of them.
- 5:07[SPEAKER_00]: to give that to the Lord.
- 5:09[SPEAKER_00]: All you can do is pray.
- 5:10[SPEAKER_00]: It's not.
- 5:11[SPEAKER_00]: I can just tell him.
- 5:13[SPEAKER_00]: I've been there.
- 5:14[SPEAKER_00]: It's not your fault.
- 5:15[SPEAKER_01]: You know, how did you deal with the shame specifically?
- 5:19[SPEAKER_02]: You mean his shame or our shame.
- 5:22[SPEAKER_01]: And your shame of our problem.
- 5:24[SPEAKER_02]: Well, it wasn't it wasn't easy.
- 5:28[SPEAKER_02]: Let me back up a little bit.
- 5:30[SPEAKER_02]: Hey, hey, I'm trouble and in school, his senior year got trouble for drugs and he had two other boys got kicked off the basket ball team at semester of his senior year as and so we instead of going back to school and getting into more trouble, we just letting
- 5:53[SPEAKER_02]: get his GED and work and work.
- 5:56[SPEAKER_02]: I had a drywall construction business and he had worked with me over the years, probably for about 20 years off and owned.
- 6:03[SPEAKER_02]: He worked for me.
- 6:05[SPEAKER_02]: But after getting kicked out of school or quit in school, whatever.
- 6:10[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it was you found out who your friends are and we were ostracized or whatever.
- 6:17[SPEAKER_00]: Down people, we live in a small town.
- 6:20[SPEAKER_00]: But everybody knows everybody.
- 6:22[SPEAKER_00]: So everybody's business is your business.
- 6:24[SPEAKER_00]: And that was a hard time.
- 6:26[SPEAKER_00]: And honestly, you know, if you ever read that book, you'll find out.
- 6:32[SPEAKER_00]: We had really no idea how deeply
- 6:37[SPEAKER_00]: that affected him and put him under a lot of yelts, and we're just thankful that God got us all the way, all of us, there it went.
- 6:45[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that's beautiful.
- 6:47[SPEAKER_01]: What is scripture reveal about God's posture toward the wandering child?
- 6:52[SPEAKER_01]: That many herding parents may be missing.
- 6:54[SPEAKER_01]: What do we know about God's heart?
- 6:56[SPEAKER_01]: God's heart for the prodigal.
- 6:57[SPEAKER_01]: That's the title of your book.
- 6:58[SPEAKER_01]: So what do we know about this?
- 6:59[SPEAKER_02]: We know that God wants everybody to be saved.
- 7:02[SPEAKER_02]: Because what's the scripture saying?
- 7:04[SPEAKER_02]: And he's not willing that any should perish and that ought to come to repentance.
- 7:09[SPEAKER_02]: We know that, and that's just a scripture, that's a verse that we have to hold on to.
- 7:16[SPEAKER_00]: And we know that when his word goes forth out of his mouth, that it will accomplish what he plans.
- 7:22[SPEAKER_00]: And that's why I encourage people who haven't really studying their Bible much to study their Bible, to read and see what God says about you, and what God says about your protocol.
- 7:35[SPEAKER_00]: And he loves us, period.
- 7:39[SPEAKER_00]: And I don't really don't think other than
- 7:43[SPEAKER_00]: Denying Jesus is there's anything that we can do that he will turn his back on us.
- 7:49[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
- 7:50[SPEAKER_00]: So he's He's full of love.
- 7:53[SPEAKER_01]: I love that.
- 7:54[SPEAKER_01]: So what you're saying is to the moms out there who are listening, God loves you.
- 7:59[SPEAKER_01]: God loves your prodigal.
- 8:01[SPEAKER_01]: God is for your prodigal.
- 8:03[SPEAKER_01]: God is not up in heaven going,
- 8:08[SPEAKER_00]: He has not, he's not exactly used to sit and said here's idea of God was he was sitting up there with his hands folded thinking, oh my gosh, what are we doing with him?
- 8:19[SPEAKER_00]: But no, that's not what God does.
- 8:21[SPEAKER_00]: He looks at us and goes, I love you.
- 8:23[SPEAKER_00]: I love you.
- 8:24[SPEAKER_00]: I want you to love me.
- 8:26[SPEAKER_00]: I love you.
- 8:26[SPEAKER_00]: You are mine.
- 8:27[SPEAKER_00]: I am for you.
- 8:28[SPEAKER_01]: I am with you.
- 8:29[SPEAKER_01]: I won't leave you.
- 8:30[SPEAKER_01]: I won't abandon you.
- 8:31[SPEAKER_01]: I won't abandon you.
- 8:32[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, his heart for our prodigals is immense.
- 8:37[SPEAKER_00]: Exactly.
- 8:38[SPEAKER_00]: If you imagine what our heart feels like for our prodigal, is this probably magnified?
- 8:43[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely.
- 8:45[SPEAKER_01]: We're all his kids, right?
- 8:46[SPEAKER_01]: Exactly.
- 8:47[SPEAKER_01]: Including your wandering child.
- 8:49[SPEAKER_01]: God loves that child so much.
- 8:52[SPEAKER_01]: And God knows the exact moment that child is going to return.
- 8:56[SPEAKER_00]: Amen.
- 8:57[SPEAKER_00]: Amen.
- 8:59[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
- 8:59[SPEAKER_01]: So how do you keep praying when nothing seems to change and hope feels hard to hold on to?
- 9:05[SPEAKER_01]: How about for you guys?
- 9:06[SPEAKER_01]: That 15 years?
- 9:07[SPEAKER_01]: That's a long time.
- 9:08[SPEAKER_00]: Tell me about that.
- 9:09[SPEAKER_00]: What that look like, how you got through it.
- 9:12[SPEAKER_00]: For me, you just have to, I would find scripture that really
- 9:19[SPEAKER_00]: gave me a promise.
- 9:20[SPEAKER_00]: The word is full of promises.
- 9:22[SPEAKER_00]: And I would find scriptures that would do that one thing.
- 9:26[SPEAKER_00]: I can't remember the exact scripture of it.
- 9:28[SPEAKER_00]: It's in Ephesians.
- 9:29[SPEAKER_00]: And it was one of Paul's prayers.
- 9:31[SPEAKER_00]: Where he says that he wants.
- 9:33[SPEAKER_00]: Guys, I can't remember it now.
- 9:35[SPEAKER_02]: Do you know that how to say he wants a step?
- 9:38[SPEAKER_02]: Oh, my, to know he is the dad and.
- 9:43[SPEAKER_00]: I'll say if I find it.
- 9:44[SPEAKER_00]: The depths of his love.
- 9:45[SPEAKER_01]: How high and why
- 9:48[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
- 9:49[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you can cut off a walking scripture on now, but it was one of Paul's appeasion prayers where, and I would take an insert in his name, his wife's name, my daughter's name, my son-in-law's name, and on my way to work, at the morning, I would read that scripture back to God.
- 10:08[SPEAKER_00]: in prayer with each of their names in it, personalizing that promise and things like that helped me, like I said, the Bible is full of promises and if you can just pick out a few that really minister to you and begin to focus on that with the hopes of your prodigal coming home, that will keep you fixed on
- 10:36[SPEAKER_00]: truth.
- 10:37[SPEAKER_00]: And when you do that and you hear those little things from the devil in your ear, then you know that's not true.
- 10:44[SPEAKER_00]: If the word says about a situation.
- 10:47[SPEAKER_01]: So what I hear you saying is that you really personalize scripture.
- 10:51[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, you took the promise and then you inserted your loved ones names and you just prayed over a daily.
- 10:58[SPEAKER_01]: I bet you prayed daily, right?
- 10:59[SPEAKER_01]: You're pretty much.
- 11:07[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if you've heard this story or not, if you've read his book, maybe you have, but you may have heard it through something else.
- 11:13[SPEAKER_02]: We were living in Florida whenever he was born.
- 11:15[SPEAKER_02]: I was born to a Bible college at the time.
- 11:19[SPEAKER_02]: And he was about a month old, and we had him dedicated to the Lord.
- 11:23[SPEAKER_02]: And, uh,
- 11:25[SPEAKER_02]: pastor was just praying, the usual kind of prayer that they pray over kids, and the right at the end of the, the back of the time he got through, he looked at us and he said, and this child will be a voice to his generation.
- 11:44[SPEAKER_02]: We held onto that for years and didn't know what to do
- 11:56[SPEAKER_02]: until he really got hungry for the Lord and started seeking the Lord.
- 12:00[SPEAKER_02]: We didn't know how God was going to use it.
- 12:02[SPEAKER_02]: He got real involved with thought that he can become an athlete and have a platform to share Jesus.
- 12:08[SPEAKER_02]: And that didn't pay him out.
- 12:10[SPEAKER_02]: And then when he got into music and the rock scene and all that.
- 12:14[SPEAKER_02]: That didn't, and a lot of his early music in his rock band was real gospel oriented and I Have other towns a lot overtones of the gospel.
- 12:26[SPEAKER_02]: He had worked with me.
- 12:27[SPEAKER_02]: It worked with me the 20 years and I had always played Christian music on the job side
- 12:35[SPEAKER_02]: so it it was in him it was just but we didn't know how God was going to do it and but when he finally taught a self to play guitar and I've been in music in my whole life.
- 12:47[SPEAKER_02]: He never showed any interest in music when he was a kid until he was about 18 years old.
- 12:53[SPEAKER_02]: That's when he taught a self to play the guitar and started writing poetry and writing songs.
- 12:58[SPEAKER_02]: But we didn't know how God was going to do it.
- 13:01[SPEAKER_02]: But that was one thing we held on to was that word was spoken over him.
- 13:05[SPEAKER_02]: And we believed it.
- 13:07[SPEAKER_02]: But we just didn't know how God was going to bring it to pass.
- 13:11[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, that is beautiful.
- 13:12[SPEAKER_01]: Look at the years you held onto that.
- 13:14[SPEAKER_01]: And then look what God did.
- 13:16[SPEAKER_01]: Look at the voice.
- 13:17[SPEAKER_01]: He gave him the platform.
- 13:19[SPEAKER_01]: He gave him now to Christian music.
- 13:21[SPEAKER_01]: Wow.
- 13:22[SPEAKER_02]: It took 33 years.
- 13:25[SPEAKER_01]: So you're saying, don't give up.
- 13:27[SPEAKER_01]: Are you saying that?
- 13:28[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
- 13:30[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's how things are always tell moms don't give, keep praying.
- 13:34[SPEAKER_00]: Believe in, you know, you can pray and you can not believe.
- 13:37[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, tell me about that.
- 13:39[SPEAKER_00]: Tell me about that belief at home because I believe it's very.
- 13:42[SPEAKER_00]: With belief in faith is a substance of things out for the evidence of things not seen.
- 13:46[SPEAKER_00]: So it's like you've got to develop your faith in what the word says, not what the world says or what the devil tells you, you've got to start.
- 13:58[SPEAKER_00]: are develop your faith on based on the Bible.
- 14:01[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
- 14:02[SPEAKER_01]: And now what you see you're a adult child doing.
- 14:04[SPEAKER_01]: You know, now you see you're wondering.
- 14:07[SPEAKER_01]: It's irrelevant.
- 14:08[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
- 14:09[SPEAKER_02]: And you know, it's, yeah, circumstances didn't look good for a long time.
- 14:13[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, they really did.
- 14:14[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I can remember us praying and talking and crying.
- 14:19[SPEAKER_00]: And whenever he was out there and at this time, I remember he had a child.
- 14:24[SPEAKER_00]: And I thought,
- 14:25[SPEAKER_00]: I just thought, when are we going to see, we feel like we had a promise from God from that prophetic word, not that anybody else can't get the same thing based on what the word says, you know what I'm saying?
- 14:38[SPEAKER_00]: But we thought, how is this ever going to happen?
- 14:41[SPEAKER_00]: And all I could say is that we have to keep believing for it.
- 14:46[SPEAKER_00]: We have to keep believing.
- 14:48[SPEAKER_00]: The word says that
- 14:50[SPEAKER_00]: He does, I think I may have said this already.
- 14:51[SPEAKER_00]: It does not return void.
- 14:53[SPEAKER_00]: It accomplishes why he sin it to a complice.
- 14:55[SPEAKER_00]: So we just have to continue.
- 14:59[SPEAKER_00]: feeding ourselves on what God's word says.
- 15:02[SPEAKER_00]: And that will keep you built up.
- 15:04[SPEAKER_00]: Even though you may not be seeing the results in front of you at that point, that you've just got to keep on.
- 15:11[SPEAKER_00]: This is, you know, having faith.
- 15:14[SPEAKER_00]: That's right.
- 15:15[SPEAKER_01]: We keep on, we don't give up.
- 15:16[SPEAKER_01]: So I want to know, in those 15 years, when he was away from the Lord, how did you love him well?
- 15:24[SPEAKER_01]: What did you do?
- 15:27[SPEAKER_02]: We, like I say, he worked with me and in the drywall business, and there was a five-year period where it was just me and him from 2009 to 2014, and really from 2009 to 2012, he was saved,
- 15:56[SPEAKER_02]: but i never did i never did preach to him we we would talk about stuff but i didn't i didn't try to push it down is push it down is throat and but like i say we we played christian music and he didn't always like it
- 16:11[SPEAKER_02]: but it was getting on the inside of him.
- 16:14[SPEAKER_02]: And of course, then the last after he got saved in June of 2012 until he quit working at the end of 2014, those were probably the best two years of my life.
- 16:27[SPEAKER_02]: at that point being around him because we could actually have fellowship and talk about things of God.
- 16:34[SPEAKER_00]: But even when he was out in the world, doing his rock and roll stuff, we went to listen to him and leave a table, coffee, and coax, and
- 16:47[SPEAKER_02]: You know, in a smoky bar, right?
- 16:49[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, England with all of his friends that were there.
- 16:52[SPEAKER_00]: And just just showing, we supported it.
- 16:56[SPEAKER_00]: We didn't support his lifestyle and people named that.
- 16:59[SPEAKER_00]: But you, when you ask it, I can't imagine not love and your kid, no matter what, right?
- 17:06[SPEAKER_00]: I can't.
- 17:07[SPEAKER_00]: I know there are people who,
- 17:09[SPEAKER_00]: think they don't, but I can't imagine not loving your kid.
- 17:12[SPEAKER_00]: And you just, you just can't allow them to lead, say, when we'd have things that are house dinners or whatever, they knew they couldn't have their alcohol or their drug.
- 17:24[SPEAKER_00]: Good.
- 17:24[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, right.
- 17:25[SPEAKER_00]: You have boundaries.
- 17:26[SPEAKER_00]: Exactly.
- 17:27[SPEAKER_00]: We love them.
- 17:28[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm like, instead, I can't imagine not in 11.
- 17:31[SPEAKER_01]: And that's right.
- 17:33[SPEAKER_01]: Was there ever a time where you tried to control or rescue him?
- 17:37[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, me.
- 17:39[SPEAKER_00]: I was probably more the controller, yeah.
- 17:42[SPEAKER_00]: Honestly, after many years of trying to get them in church and doing the things that I thought they should do, I was just praying one day and I thought, you
- 17:55[SPEAKER_00]: you created us, you created the earth and the stars and the moon and everything else and if you cannot do this without help then it's probably not going to get done and I honestly just kind of backed off of preaching to my kids and telling them you need to come to church and it seemed like almost immediate within a few weeks I was seeing a change in attitudes
- 18:24[SPEAKER_00]: And so that's hard to do when you're a controller, you know, and I think you're probably am.
- 18:29[SPEAKER_00]: You have to just give it to God and trust that he's going to take care of it.
- 18:33[SPEAKER_00]: And it took me a long time to learn that, but I think once I did, it allowed them to hear him.
- 18:40[SPEAKER_00]: more than me.
- 18:41[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's beautiful.
- 18:42[SPEAKER_01]: Ding, ding, when mom's surrender, when parents surrender, get out of the way, then we make way for God.
- 18:50[SPEAKER_01]: And we're just got it.
- 18:51[SPEAKER_01]: He's yours.
- 18:52[SPEAKER_01]: These kids are yours.
- 18:54[SPEAKER_01]: And that's beautiful.
- 18:55[SPEAKER_01]: And you're right.
- 18:56[SPEAKER_01]: It's hard to do, but it's the best it's the best way to be.
- 18:59[SPEAKER_01]: It's the best way to be because it says, God, I trust you.
- 19:03[SPEAKER_01]: I don't have to rescue.
- 19:04[SPEAKER_01]: I don't have to fix.
- 19:05[SPEAKER_01]: I don't have to control one thing about this situation.
- 19:08[SPEAKER_01]: I'm just
- 19:10[SPEAKER_01]: and trust you.
- 19:12[SPEAKER_01]: That's right.
- 19:14[SPEAKER_01]: Hey Mama, if your house feels too quiet and your heart feels too heavy after launching your child, I've created a guide just for you.
- 19:22[SPEAKER_01]: It's called journaling through transitional grief, a gentle, faith-filled resource to help you process the deep of motions of letting go.
- 19:32[SPEAKER_01]: Inside you'll find six reflection questions that will help you name your feelings,
- 19:37[SPEAKER_01]: invite God into the grief and experience his comfort in the middle of change.
- 19:42[SPEAKER_01]: Remember, transitional grief is only a season and God is leading you toward peace, purpose, and joy.
- 19:50[SPEAKER_01]: You can grab your free copy at the link in the show notes.
- 19:53[SPEAKER_01]: Now, let's get back to our conversation.
- 19:56[SPEAKER_01]: So, what would you say to the moms whose prodigal has been gone emotionally, spiritually, and relationally for years?
- 20:04[SPEAKER_01]: And she feels like giving up.
- 20:06[SPEAKER_00]: Ma, this sounds maybe cliche or whatever, but if you give up, you have nothing.
- 20:16[SPEAKER_00]: So what's it going to hurt to keep on holding on to God and keep on praying?
- 20:20[SPEAKER_00]: If you give up and you basically say, okay, I'm done.
- 20:26[SPEAKER_00]: God can still make his word come to pass like he says, but
- 20:31[SPEAKER_00]: You're not going to have that relationship with your children.
- 20:35[SPEAKER_00]: I just think that it's so important to hold on no matter how you feel and just believe the word is true.
- 20:47[SPEAKER_02]: God uses people and he uses, he uses us so we have to do our part of whether it talking to him or just praying for him or whatever, but we have to realize too that the gods have wanted, that's going to be the increase.
- 21:03[SPEAKER_02]: We plant, we water, but the gods have wanted that does it really in the end.
- 21:09[SPEAKER_01]: What's one thing you want people to gain from reading your book, your devotional.
- 21:17[SPEAKER_00]: For me, he just can't ever give up.
- 21:20[SPEAKER_00]: You've got to stay rounded and in the word of God and trust that his promises are true.
- 21:26[SPEAKER_00]: And
- 21:29[SPEAKER_00]: They are, but you've got to continue to support your kids, even though you don't agree with what they do.
- 21:38[SPEAKER_00]: But in love them, once you give up, I always, there's just nothing else out there for you to do.
- 21:45[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, if you don't trust God, then there's just nothing else to do.
- 21:58[SPEAKER_00]: how long, and how can we continue to do this, but then I look, I thought, and let's like, there's nothing else we can day.
- 22:06[SPEAKER_00]: What's the alternative?
- 22:08[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, there is no alternative.
- 22:10[SPEAKER_01]: There is no alternative.
- 22:12[SPEAKER_01]: There's bitterness and disappointment and despair.
- 22:15[SPEAKER_01]: And we don't want that.
- 22:16[SPEAKER_00]: Right now.
- 22:17[SPEAKER_01]: All right.
- 22:18[SPEAKER_01]: I want to thank you Steven Jeannie for being here today.
- 22:22[SPEAKER_01]: And I want to know, can you please tell my listeners how they can find your book?
- 22:28[SPEAKER_00]: The book's available, where most books are sold.
- 22:30[SPEAKER_00]: I know what's on Amazon because I look the other day.
- 22:33[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think it's at Barnes and Noble.
- 22:35[SPEAKER_00]: So most book stores are going to have it.
- 22:37[SPEAKER_00]: And then also you can go to klive.com and order on there online shop.
- 22:42[SPEAKER_00]: Wonderful.
- 22:43[SPEAKER_01]: I will leave a link in the show notes.
- 22:45[SPEAKER_01]: If you're listening today with tears in your eyes because this story feels personal, I want you to hear this.
- 22:51[SPEAKER_01]: Your child's story is not finished.
- 22:54[SPEAKER_01]: God sees the prayers you've prayed in the quiet.
- 22:56[SPEAKER_01]: He sees the surrender.
- 22:58[SPEAKER_01]: He sees the heartbreak and friend.
- 22:59[SPEAKER_01]: He loves your child even more than you do.
- 23:03[SPEAKER_01]: Here's your coaching tip of the week.
- 23:05[SPEAKER_01]: In each episode, I will give you one actionable step to improve your life.
- 23:09[SPEAKER_01]: Remember, you can't change everything, but you can take one step to be better.
- 23:14[SPEAKER_01]: This week, I want you to go to your Bible and I want you to find a promise and make it personal, put your prodigal name in there, and then write that verse on a card, and then take it with you wherever you go.
- 23:28[SPEAKER_01]: Leave it in the kitchen, leave it by your Bible, put it in your car, put it on your bathroom mirror, and just keep praying.
- 23:36[SPEAKER_01]: If this episode encouraged you, send it to a mom who needs hope today.
- 23:39[SPEAKER_01]: And if you're walking this road and needs support as you learn how to love your adult child with wisdom and faith, I'd love to connect with you through coaching.
- 23:47[SPEAKER_01]: You can apply for coaching at the link in the show notes.
- 23:50[SPEAKER_01]: Grace and Peace Mama.
- 23:52[SPEAKER_01]: You've got this and God's got you.
- 23:55[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much for spending time with me on the Midlife Mama podcast.
- 23:58[SPEAKER_01]: My hope is that you leave each episode feeling encouraged
- 24:02[SPEAKER_01]: Grounded and clearer.
- 24:04[SPEAKER_01]: Clearer about what you're feeling, what God may be stirring in you, and how to move forward in the season of the empty nest.
- 24:10[SPEAKER_01]: Through these conversations, I'm not just sharing stories, I'm coaching you.
- 24:15[SPEAKER_01]: Helping you name what's happening beneath the service, challenging the thoughts that keep you stuck and take intentional steps toward peace and confidence as a midlife mom.
- 24:25[SPEAKER_01]: If you're ready to go deeper and want personalized coaching support, I invite you to apply for coaching.
- 24:32[SPEAKER_01]: Coaching is a focused one-on-one space where we work together to gain clarity, process emotions, and discern what God is calling you to in this next chapter.
- 24:41[SPEAKER_01]: You'll find the application linked in the show notes, and let's stay connected.
- 24:46[SPEAKER_01]: You can find me on Instagram at P-Hinglman, that's P-H-E-N-K-E-L-M-A-N, or on Facebook, at Pamela Hinglman, and T-Nest Coach.
- 24:56[SPEAKER_01]: You don't have to figure out the season alone, mama.
- 25:00[SPEAKER_01]: Support and direction are possible, and I'm here when you're ready.