Parental Absence Can Kill A Child

Proverbs 22:6 & Ephesians 6:4

Childhood wounds by unhealthy parents can create the next generation of hurtful parents. Ask God to stop the hurt from spreading.

Soul Food

Psalm 27:10

“Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.”

Proverbs 22:6 

“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”

Ephesians 6:4

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

Soul Search

• What were your parents like growing up?
  Were they warm, kind, and loving to you and were they ‘present’ for you?

• If one or both of your parents were ‘absent’ and if they weren’t warm and loving to you, how have you resolved and filled the holes left in your soul from that kind of upbringing?
  Often, the things we choose to fill those holes with can make matters worse.
  Do you think you’ve chosen healthy solutions or not-so-healthy ones?

• In examining your own parenting skills, do you feel at a disadvantage having not had good role modeling?
  If you do feel you’re succeeding at parenting in spite of what might have been your own negative upbringing, why do you feel you are?

• In what ways do you think you can be a better parent?
  What ideas do you have to become a better parent?

Soul Moves

• If you haven’t done it already, the first step in receiving healing from brokenness in your family of origin is to ask the Lord to receive you into His family by accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.

• If one or both of your parents were hurtful, unkind, harsh, absent or any of those things, ask God to give you His power to forgive them.
  A massive step forward toward healing is the extending of forgiveness to those who have hurt you – especially your parents.

• Ask God in prayer to show you clearly how you have tried to cope and find relief from the wounds that you experienced in childhood at the hands of one or both of your parents.
  There are usually a range of unhealthy behaviors (often which turn into addictions of one kind or another) we adopt in order to divert our attention away from the hurt we are experiencing. Once you can see those behaviors for what they are, they can begin to be dealt with.

• Look for patterns in your own parenting style that reflect your parents’ parenting style.
  Accept the healthy patterns and continue practicing them while seeing clearly the unhealthy patterns and asking God to help you reject and break those patterns.