Even Billy Graham had prodigal kids

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.--Proverbs 22:6

What do you do when it all goes wrong? When, despite having done what you thought was your best, your children take the wrong path?

My recent interview with Allison Bottke about her book, Setting Boundaries with Your Adult Children, gave me plenty of food for thought.

I have only one "child" living at home now--my 21-year-old daughter. My sons are 28 and 25, no longer living at home, gainfully employed and faithful attenders of church. All three of my children love the Lord and have given me no cause for grief to date. Thank God for that.

But that isn't always the case. I have friends who did everything "right," or at least they thought they did. And now they're struggling with grown children who have broken their hearts and caused them severe pain and grief.

I thought about Allison's book just the other day, when I saw a video about Tullian Tchividjian. Never heard of him? Neither had I...but he is a grandson of revered evangelist Billy Graham.

Tchvidgian told blogger Justin Taylor in an interview:

"I grew up in an amazing Christian home. The flavor of Christianity that was expressed by my family was not legalistic or oppressive. It was joyful, warm, inviting, hospitable, and real...however... I couldn’t figure out where I fit inside the home and so I set out trying to determine where I fit outside the home. And when you are young, immature, sinfully self-centered, and desperate for belonging, you make some pretty unwise choices—which I did. The people that I started running around with and the things I started to do began to get me in a lot of trouble. To make a long story short, at the ripe young age of 16, I dropped out of high school, got kicked out of my home (actually escorted off my parent’s property by the police) and started pursuing worldly pleasure with all of my might."

Obviously, something happened to change Tullian. He is now a pastor, and the author of a book titled Do I Know God? As I understand it, his famous grandfather ended up helping him financially through seminary.

But Tullian wasn't the first Graham progeny to rebel. Billy's son Franklin Graham, now a respected and admired ministry leader, experienced his own time as a prodigal.

My point? Even being one of the most respected and admired Christians in the world doesn't exempt you from having children who stray.

As for the questions at the beginning of my post, they don't have easy answers. But God-centered books like Allison Bottke's are a good place to start. Allison stresses that yielding everything to God is the most important step in dealing with your prodigal child.

Father, I pray for my adult children. I pray that you would keep them close to You, and that they would always put You first in their lives. Help me to deal with and interact with my adult children in the way you would have me to. And most of all...THANK YOU for giving them to me.