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When Our Kids are Hurt

I am the proud parent of three wonderful children - 19, 16 & 13. Can't even say they're children anymore, really - but they're my children. Through these many years I have had occasion to experience the intense pain that comes to parents when one of their children is hurt - by friends or circumstances.

One would think that once your 'children' are no longer 'children' that these painful experiences would abate. Not so - seems the bigger the 'child' the bigger the hurt. At least for this parent! On two occasions this summer my 19-year-old was dissed by supposed friends. Now if this had happened when he was younger - I might have called the offending friend's parents and had a little chat. But you can't do that when your child is no longer a child. Instead, you have to stand helplessly by and hold back the tears and feel the burning inside that is your heart breaking.

And then, if you're a parent like me who likes to write and finds solace in writing, you make your way to the computer and write about it. The burning subsides, just a little. The tears come silently but they come. And then, if you're a parent like me that finds solace in God, you pray that this won't forever dampen your child's love of life or silence his beautiful laugh.

It is all part of growing up - these painful times. These are the times when our children learn how to cope and gain the skills needed to become resourceful adults. Every parent had those experiences - and maybe that's why the pain is searing when we watch our children have these experiences. But it is so hard to stand by, especially this summer when what I really wanted to do was slash the tires of the offenders!

Now, that little bit of honesty felt GREAT!

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