The Perfect Gift for Parents of Prodigals

The shrill sound of a whistle pierced the air again. “Traveling”.  His fists clenched and my heart sank as I watched his pain seep out through the cracks of the lid. He tried hard to keep it all down under, but the boiling threatened to explode at any moment. He was “not good enough”… working harder than anyone out there and losing the joy of the game.

How can I tell him he’s already good enough? “Play like it doesn’t matter how you do. Play like it’s just fun.”

What a picture of my own struggle. I need to hear those words over my life too. “Play like it doesn’t matter how you do. Play like it’s just fun.” So much of the pressure falls off when I let Jesus whisper that into my ear. He tells me I’m already loved, already pleasing to Him because Jesus died for my sins and made me perfectly right with Him.

I find it challenging at Christmastime to find a gift for someone who doesn’t need anything. It is easy to give to those with lots of visible needs, but a gift brings less joy when it’s perceived to be unneeded. One of the benefits of having a prodigal child is that I am regularly forced to see the “in my face” truth of my neediness. It’s not only “in my face” but it’s also out there for others to see.

 When my children were little I found comfort in a sign on a friend’s refrigerator that said “If parents were perfect, their children wouldn’t need God.” I think I could add another sign… “If parents were perfect they wouldn’t need God.

I need God. And one of the worst places I can be is away from that truth. There is a sweet spot that can be found somewhere in the middle of recognizing my total inadequacy to meet my child’s deep needs. It can also be found when I feel like I have nothing to write, no answers, no strength to hold my own head up, let alone anyone else’s. It is that wonderful place where my thirsty heart soaks up the words of Luke 2:10,11…

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you  good news of great joy that will be for  all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

 

“Father God, You have given me the perfect gift—Jesus.

Thank-you with all my heart.

 Jesus, I am a sinner and lost without You.

 You are my Savior and I throw myself into Your arms

 and cling to Your neck with my whole being.

 Thank-you for loving me just as I am.”