Thoughts for Parents of Teenagers #82 – Overwhelmed and Stressed? Get Help!

Sometimes the circumstances in our own lives and the stresses of raising and living with teenagers can become overwhelming, paralyzing, and detrimental to our spiritual and emotional well-being. Adding in work and marriage only compounds our struggles. If you’ve already reached that point of desperation, continuing to spiral downward out of control is not helping anyone. If your normal responses are simply not working, it may be time to seek outside help. As a committed parent and follower of Jesus, giving up or shutting down is not really an option.

Talking to an older, spiritually mature Christian couple, who successfully survived the teen years may provide the encouragement and answers you need. Seeking help from one of your pastors or a biblical counselor is also a good direction to take. Several people in our church have biblical counseling training and are ready to meet with you.

When we are down, it’s easy to find a “friend” who will commiserate with us, and tell us that we’re doing all we can do already. That makes us feel better for a short time, but doesn’t provide any real solutions. The right response is to seek wisdom from God and His Word. He promises to go with us through all of our trials, and not leave us on our own. He also ensures us that in His power we can handle whatever comes along.
 

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (ESV)

Many times pride keeps us from asking for help; sometimes it’s the fear of others seeing our weakness, or admitting failure. Getting a fresh, unbiased biblical perspective can really help us see where we are missing the mark and help lead to wholeness and healing. God gave us the gift of the church family to encourage and help each other. Don’t try to do it all on your own!

in HIS service,

Pastor Mark

P.S. The blog titles and main ideas come from Walt Mueller’s book “99 Thoughts for Parents of Teenagers”. I personalize and modify the message, and also add Scripture.