Moses' mom decided to fashion a basket and float her baby down a crocodile infested river, trusting that God would keep her child safe. I decided to put my teen in a locked-down psychiatric hospital, trusting that God would keep my child safe.
Endless prayer, helpful medication, intense individual therapy, painful joint therapy, hours of personal research, and the addition of new and improved coping techniques to my Parent Toolbox became essential components to making it through daily life. While I make no claims regarding formal education in the field of psychology or therapy, I do claim to be a survivor of raising three teens, and I've got a toolbox full of techniques that work.
Who would have thought that such a family crisis could result in such a positive outcome? But I can be thankful that life has brought our family to the place we are today: stronger, wiser, and better prepared. I can look at my teens and feel … hope again. I look at myself and feel … optimism again.
Let me share some of the tools from my Parent Toolbox. See if you find them to be as helpful (and as easy to use) as I did.
