Parenting Through The Hard

In this Hope in the Hard episode, I slow down with a story many of us know, the one often called the prodigal son, and I reflect on it through a different lens. Instead of focusing on the child who wandered, I sit with the parent who stayed.

As a mom navigating the challenges of parenting teens and adult children, including seasons of addiction, distance, and unanswered questions, I explore the long, quiet stretch of waiting that lives between departure and return. I wonder about the unseen work God may be doing in our hearts during that time, the grief, the surrender, and the daily choice to love without controlling.

This episode is for parents walking through hard seasons with their children and for anyone learning how to remain tender without chasing outcomes.

Together, we consider how God may be working on both sides of the road, shaping not only the child who struggles, but the parent who waits. It's a gentle, reflective Hope in the Hard conversation about trust, timing, and how we are learning to love faithfully in the middle.

If you’d like to partner with us and support the podcast, consider sponsoring an upcoming episode by making a donation of any size to Parenting Through the Hard [by clicking here].

Your support keeps this podcast running — and goes directly toward production costs and continuing this mission.

For more resources and hope-filled tools, visit parentingthroughthehard.com

Disclaimer: The thoughts shared here come from my own parenting and faith journey. Please remember this podcast is not a replacement for professional counseling or medical guidance.

In this episode, I share honestly about the early days when recovery enters the conversation, a season that feels both hopeful and fragile at the same time. I talk about the complicated emotions parents carry when the crisis quiets, the grief that can surface alongside relief, and what it means to stay connected to your child without guarantees.

I reflect on why I think it might be hard for families to speak openly about addiction, the fear many children carry of disappointing the people they love, and the quiet tension parents live with as they try to hold hope without hardening.

This conversation is not about quick fixes or tidy endings. It is about staying present, rooted in love and relationship, when the road ahead still feels long. If you are a parent navigating recovery, change, or uncertainty and trying to hold hope while honoring your own limits, this episode is for you.

In this episode, I reflect on how fear, isolation, and discouragement can quietly shape the way we show up as parents during hard seasons.

I share what I’m learning about staying connected, turning toward the light, and noticing small signs of movement and hope, even when nothing seems to be changing yet.

In this episode, I share honestly about the cycle of hope and disappointment that often comes with loving a child through addiction, and the hard, quiet work of learning how to stay when the story isn’t resolved yet.

If you’d like to partner with us and support the podcast, consider sponsoring an upcoming episode by making a donation of any size to Parenting Through the Hard [by clicking here].

Your support keeps this podcast running — and goes directly toward production costs and continuing this mission.

For more resources and hope-filled tools, visit parentingthroughthehard.com

Disclaimer: The thoughts shared here come from my own parenting and faith journey. Please remember this podcast is not a replacement for professional counseling or medical guidance.

This Hope in the Hard continues last week’s conversation about loving a child through addiction. I’m sharing honestly from the middle of the uncertainty that comes after trying to let go and the quiet work of loving without controlling the outcome.

If you’d like to partner with us and support the podcast, consider sponsoring an upcoming episode by making a donation of any size to Parenting Through the Hard [by clicking here].

Your support keeps this podcast running — and goes directly toward production costs and continuing this mission.

For more resources and hope-filled tools, visit parentingthroughthehard.com

Disclaimer: The thoughts shared here come from my own parenting and faith journey. Please remember this podcast is not a replacement for professional counseling or medical guidance.

Disclaimer: The thoughts shared here come from my own parenting and faith journey. Please remember this podcast is not a replacement for professional counseling or medical guidance.

If you’d like to partner with us and support the podcast, consider sponsoring an upcoming episode by making a donation of any size to Parenting Through the Hard [by clicking here].

Your support keeps this podcast running and goes directly toward production costs and continuing this mission.

For more resources and hope-filled tools, visit parentingthroughthehard.com

Lately, I’ve been paying attention to the moments when conversations with my big kids feel tense, guarded, or harder than they need to be, and what might be underneath that.

In this Hope in the Hard reflection, I share a personal story about a small but meaningful shift I’m practicing as a parent, and why it’s changing the way I think about connection, boundaries, and growth.

This episode is a gentle pause. An invitation to notice what happens when we stop managing the outcome and start listening more closely.

If you’d like to partner with us and support the podcast, consider sponsoring an upcoming episode by making a donation of any size to Parenting Through the Hard [by clicking here].

Your support keeps this podcast running — and goes directly toward production costs and continuing this mission.

For more resources and hope-filled tools, visit parentingthroughthehard.com

Disclaimer: The thoughts shared here come from my own parenting and faith journey. Please remember this podcast is not a replacement for professional counseling or medical guidance.

In this episode, I reflect on starting a new year feeling tired, stuck, and unsure how to move forward as a parent. I share how my practice of choosing a word for the year helped me reframe what it means to begin again—without pressure, perfection, or forcing progress.

Disclaimer: The thoughts shared here come from my own parenting and faith journey. Please remember this podcast is not a replacement for professional counseling or medical guidance.

If you’d like to partner with us and support the podcast, consider sponsoring an upcoming episode by making a donation of any size to Parenting Through the Hard [by clicking here].

Your support keeps this podcast running and goes directly toward production costs and continuing this mission.

For more resources and hope-filled tools, visit parentingthroughthehard.com

As this year comes to a close, I sat down to record what I thought would be a simple 7-minute Hope in the Hard reflection… but once I began, I realized this message needed more space. So today’s episode is a little longer — a gentle, unhurried conversation about looking back, letting go, and noticing the new thing God may already be growing beneath the surface.

If you’d like to partner with us and support the podcast, consider sponsoring an upcoming episode by making a donation of any size to Parenting Through the Hard [by clicking here].

Your support keeps this podcast running — and goes directly toward production costs and continuing this mission.

For more resources and hope-filled tools, visit parentingthroughthehard.com

Disclaimer: The thoughts shared here come from my own parenting and faith journey. Please remember this podcast is not a replacement for professional counseling or medical guidance.

In this special Christmas Hope in the Hard reflection, I’m sharing some tender thoughts about finding peace in the quieter moments of the season — the ones that don’t always feel “merry and bright.”

If you’d like to partner with us and support the podcast, consider sponsoring an upcoming episode by making a donation of any size to Parenting Through the Hard [by clicking here].

Your support keeps this podcast running — and goes directly toward production costs and continuing this mission.

For more resources and hope-filled tools, visit parentingthroughthehard.com

Disclaimer: The thoughts shared here come from my own parenting and faith journey. Please remember this podcast is not a replacement for professional counseling or medical guidance.