- Author Debbie Causey, a mom who has been through this, writes: “If you are a parent of an LGBTQ+ child, there is a good chance your child is struggling with their faith, is questioning their faith, or has left the faith.”
Noting that such children have often been hurt by negative experiences on their own journey, Causey says that parents can’t force children back to church. Instead, they should “consider what [their children] may need to heal from these difficult experiences. We need to enable that healing. The best way for me to allow my children to heal is to become someone they can trust. Only then will I have the influence I desire.”
Read more in Debbie’s book The Big Reveal: Loving Your LGBTQ+ Child While Strengthening Your Faith. - Parents Greg and Lynn McDonald run a network for Christian parents of LGBTQ children. In their book, Embracing the Journey: A Christian Parents’ Guide to Loving Your LGBTQ Child, they also emphasize the importance of giving up the need to be in control of their child’s journey and trust God, no matter how difficult that may seem:
“God knew, long before we did, that we would be in this place. That includes our LGBTQ children, their non-Christian friends, the people in the church who are quick to judge them, and the people in the world who might try to hurt them….
“We must trust the Master Artist. We must accept that God created our children for a reason, and he knows ‘all the days ordained’ for them, including the difficult ones. It’s not our job to understand the reason or to bend it to our will. All we can do is accept that his ‘works are wonderful.’ Nothing is too big for him, and nothing surprises him.”
You can connect with Greg and Lynn’s network via their website, Embracing the Journey.
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