Thank you for downloading the Focus on the Family Parenting Podcast. You can find more helpful advice at

Focus on the Family.com slash parenting podcast.

You might have heard a Bible verse that says children are a gift from God and there may be times in your life where you're thinking thank you, don't want it, but the truth is they really are a precious gift and it's something important for us to remember

that we're stewards of the most precious thing God has for us which is a child.

I'm John Fuller here with focus on the family's head of parenting

Danny Werta and children come from God and we kind of turn them back over to

him especially when we're struggling is like here God I don't want this child anymore or right

now.

Jeannie Kunyan is an author and speaker and she emphasized this matter of perspective and

thankfulness for the gift as she spoke with

focused president Jim Daly and me.

Jeannie, I want to turn a little bit to specific issues that some might be facing. There's other challenges that moms face

where their children are suffering in some way, from rejection, a mistake they made, or simply because life is hard.

You know, it's not going the way the teenager wants it to go.

Maybe they're not as popular as other kids are, whatever it might be. You describe a time when one of your

boys was suffering from rejection and how that broke your heart. So in this formula of

grace and pursuing God in Romans 828 that all things work for good to those

who love the Lord and are called by his name, that's a tough way to parent too because your

children somewhere will suffer in some way.

And there is a benefit to suffering.

So tie that all up for me.

Oh, that's a big one.

...