51. Running from God, Finding Grace: When Your Child Questions Their Faith, Part 1

"In all honesty I was tired of running from God. It’s hard work to run away from God because you’re running away from love and joy and hope. You don’t realize, until you’re away from all of those, the deep cavern that is inside of you without God filling it. So I came to this place of surrender and it was really GRACE. I was finally willing to admit that I was lonely and that I was hopeless… to admit that I couldn’t do this anymore on my own and I didn’t want to..."    
Victoria Dahilig, Episode 51

This week and next, you get to journey to the heart of God through the testimony of Victoria Dahilig - church youth and ministry director.  This two part series includes two original songs by Victoria - words God gave her because they were the words her heart needed to hear, and perhaps you need these words for your own heart or for the heart of one that you love who is running.

"Psalm 113:7-8 says 'He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and the princes of His people.' That was exactly where I felt that I was at – that I was poor in the dust and needy in the ash heap. I had felt that I was in a place of dust and ashes and God was willing to lift me out of the heap... I grabbed a hold of the truth about the sovereignty of God - the mystery of Him and the assurance of Him... One of my songs was born out of this realization, in the act of turning back to Christ and realizing how heavy the loneliness, and dust, and ashes were weighing on me and taking the chance to open up in an honest prayer to God – lifting a raw prayer before Him.“     
Victoria Dahilig, Episode 51

Parents, one thing I feel very strongly is that how we help our younger children discover God is a very different parenting plan from when our teens and adult children wrestle with their faith. "Who is God?" and "Who am I in relationship to Him?"  Are critical questions. As intentional parents, we can't have a "one size fits all ages" approach to this heart issue. We need to handle it differently at different stages of life. Next week, as we conclude this interview with Tori and introduce her next song, we’ll also talk about the Parent’s Action Plan - steps for helping your kids make their faith their own - different steps for diff