I have always taken my responsibility as a parent very seriously, so when my oldest son got a DUI and ended up in jail, I was devastated. My initial reaction was to ask myself, where did I go wrong? How could this happen to my son. It took several years for things to get sorted out. Eventually, John told me that he had given up his faith and viewed himself as an agnostic. He didn’t think he had ever truly given his life to Christ and wanted nothing to do with the church.

Proverbs 22:6 instructs us to “train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” The Hebrew word translated way, derek means “a road (as trodden)” (1870). Figuratively, derek refers to a course of life or mode of action Regarding our behavior, derek means our manner of life, the way we conduct ourselves. Derek also “refers to a ‘condition’ in the sense of what has happened to someone…In one passage derek signifies the overall course and fixed path of one’s life, or his ‘destiny.'”

My son’s declaration that he was no longer a Christian forced me to considered whether or not he had actually been converted as a young boy. As I looked back at his life and thought about his behavior, I was certain his commitment was real. Even though John no longer attended church, he was the same kind and loving person underneath his rough exterior. As a mom, it is hard to watch my son struggle and make mistakes, but I know that his life is in God’s hands and I believe someday his faith will be restored. I did all I could to point him in the right direction, the outcome is God’s.