Prodigal Questions

As I was preparing for this message I ran across these unanswered questions of Martina Phillips, a mother who has a wayward son whom she has not seen for 4 years:

She has “how” questions: She asks: How does a parent, who has prayed daily, deal with the rebellion of a child? How does a loving parent accept the rejection of her offspring? How does a parent keep from giving up hope? How does a parent resist envy and bitterness when other people's children progress?

She asks why: Why does free will have to take us so far from God? Why is it so hard to accept that this might be part of the Master's plan? Why do the happy parents never ask about the unhappy ones? Why do children see loving parents as their enemies? Why are these children choosing the wrong path first? Why are they so selfish?

She asks where: Where is all of this chaos going? Where are the answers? Where is the glimmer of hope? Where are the others who are needed to walk alongside? Where can a parent find comfort? Where does a parent learn to understand this pain? Where do the tears go that are shed for these wayward children?

And she asks what: What is the parent of a wayward child to do? What does a parent do to dispel her fears? What next? What can I say? What can I do?