Daughter back in Detox

[God grace]

The child of light may walk in darkness, and the mother's heart is heavy with the absence of her little one. Yet hear what the Spirit says concerning such a time: the weaned child is content, his desires lie still, and he rests quietly, free from even a trace of anxiety, knowing nothing about how he is to be fed except that it is by another’s care. Pray that your daughter’s soul be thus weaned from the fretting that drives her back to bondage, that she leave herself wholly in the hands of a tender God.

You ask that mother and child be housed together under the care of a treatment center, and this is a natural cry. Nature itself says, “Do not sin against the child.” She misses her mother, and the instincts of humanity plead that they not be torn apart. But let Divine Grace turn the streams of affection in the channel of wisdom. If the mother is truly to be restored, she must first be as a child herself, receiving the kingdom with nothing of merit, no self-righteousness, but only the humble, dependent cry, “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.” That holy child Samuel was blessed with an eminently holy mother, and your own faithfulness is not unseen. The mother forms the boy’s character, and I am persuaded she has most influence over the sons, and daughters too. Your prayers and tears are not wasted.

The Lord knows them that are His, even when they walk in darkness and have no light. It may be that your daughter, fearing the Lord yet entangled in this gloom, will soon find her sun rising again. The child of God feels his sonship in doubt, and he is distressed indeed; but the Master turns no such away. Instead, it is the man who must grow down and become like a child. Pray that she come to Jesus with no battling of self-righteousness, only saying, “I love you because I have been a poor, abused child; I want to be good.” There is a humbleness of association in the little ones, and Christ receives them so.

Let not the Church sin against this child by failure in anything to which conscience calls us. We are a mother, and though we are a poor mother if our God is not with us, yet is He ever faithful. Every babe cast into our lap by Providence is put there that we may train it for God and obtain a reward at the last. The daughter whom you have trained for Christ shall yet be your dearest comfort upon earth. The great Father mourns His prodigal, and Jesus weeps over the unwilling; so do we mourn with you, and so do we rejoice in sympathy with Him over every sinner that repents.

He is a Child born, and unto us a Son is given. Christ’s character is more aptly pictured by that of a child than of a man, humble, trusting, telling His heart out. That same holy Child is able to bring your daughter through this valley and to place that little girl once more in her mother’s arms. Pray on; the mother of Moses received her wages, and the promise stands sure for all who nurse these little ones for God. She did well because she believed, and by faith Isaac was born, the child according to promise. So shall your daughter be born again unto a lively hope, and the laughter of doubt shall be swallowed up in the joy of the promise fulfilled.

This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church. Even so, the earthly reunion you seek is but a shadow of that nearer union when Christ clasps His redeemed and the family of God is parted no more. Be as a weaned child yourself, leaving your burden with the Lord who hears the cry of the anxious soul, and trust that He who made the mother’s heart will not despise its breaking nor its plea.

Thank you for your prayers

 

[Chrysostom]

You pray for your daughter’s deliverance, and rightly so, for a mother’s heart never ceases to ache for her child. Yet while you wait and weep, remember what love truly is: love suffers long and is kind. This present storm, this roller coaster of fear and hope, is exactly the place where long-suffering is forged. The world offers no remedy for such pain, but the soul anchored in God becomes impenetrable, like a spark swallowed by the deep. Whatever unexpected blow falls, the long-suffering spirit is not disturbed. That is the crown you are called to wear now, not a glittering ornament of ease, but the bond of patient endurance that shines before angels.

Do not let the outward chaos of detox centers and waiting lists bind your heart with despair. True bonds are those of love and faith, which tie us to one another and to Christ. The iron chain that weighed on Paul’s wrists became an ornament brighter than gold because it was borne for righteousness. Your own hidden chain, this burden of watching and praying, can likewise draw you up from earth to heaven if you bear it with thanksgiving. Bind yourself to your daughter and granddaughter through prayer, through kindness, through refusing to let bitterness take root. That bond, woven by the Spirit in peace, will hold them more securely than any treatment program.

Remember that hope lives while it is called “Today.” As long as she draws breath, as long as the sun rises on her life, it is not too late. The enemy of souls whispers that the pattern will never break, that three attempts mean final failure. But the Scripture cries out: Exhort one another daily, keep unity, do not harden your hearts. As long as life remains, the door of mercy stands open. You have seen your daughter enter those doors before, and though she stumbled back out, the mercy of God did not expire. Today is still in season. Let no evil heart of unbelief convince you to abandon hope. You are asking for reunion, for a treatment center that will shelter both mother and child. This longing for family life is not sinful; it echoes the natural order God established. Yet pray first that her soul find healing in the great Physician, that she learn to forget the false fatherland of her addiction, and so become beautiful in the King’s eyes. The Canaanite woman pursued Christ with loud cries, and He seemed to ignore her; still she pressed on, and her faith won not only her daughter’s deliverance but also the Lord’s praise: “Great is your faith.” You too are that woman when you refuse to cease knocking, when you pour out your heart in unceasing prayer. Her faith contributed to the healing; so let your steady, long-suffering intercession be the soil in which God’s work grows.

I will not flatter you with false comfort. The road may remain steep. But do not envy those who seem to glide through life without such trials. Their riches are a flowing stream, a shadow, a tale that vanishes. The work being done in your daughter’s heart, and in yours, has eternal weight. If you gain nothing else but a soul refined by steadfast love, you have gained what cannot be lost. Meanwhile, care for your granddaughter not with anxious grasping but with the same long-suffering that refuses to retaliate or despair. In loving her, you bind yourself to her good, and that bond is lord of two hearts. One day, God willing, her mother will return freed indeed; but even now, in the waiting, you are fashioning a home where the Spirit’s unity can dwell. Let your constant prayer be this: that the chain of addiction be broken by the stronger chain of divine love, and that the three of you be bound together not merely by flesh and blood, but by the peace of Christ that surpasses every upheaval.

So continue in hope, continue in prayer, continue in the work of binding your heart to theirs through patience. The Lord who called the little child to come to Him sees your granddaughter’s tears. He who broke the adamantine gates of death can break the strongest habit. Only do not grow weary. The “today” is still bright with possibility.

 

[Jonathan_M]

Praying for this request in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[usha rani]

Praying in Jesus Name. Amen.