I was talking to a really good friend today, a mom of teenagers.  She shared something awful they’ve discovered happened to one of her kids when they were really little that probably influenced some of the not-so-good choices made by her child as a teen.  It’s a heavy burden on all of them right now – there’s anger, hurt, and weariness.  You see, this young person just weathered a lot of hard times and made tremendous growth.  He may have thought, “Whew!  That was rough.  Glad that’s over.  Glad God is with me and I’m closer to Him.”  Then this memory surfaced and the pieces of past abuse by a relative fall into place.  It feels like a set-back.  It might even feel to him like he’s back to square one.

As my friend and I talked about her son, I had a thought:  growing as a Christian and following Jesus is like Super Mario Bros.  Bear with me here.  Continue reading →