Many Christian parents can feel guilty and grieve over children who have grown up and have left Christian faith behind. They pray, but it is very hard. EN has recently spoken with Carrie who, after over 20 years away, has recently come back to the Lord. Her story has both challenges and encouragements for Christian parents.
EN: Tell us about your childhood.
Carrie: I came from a Christian family. It was pretty strict and we never had much materially. Looking back I realise it must have been a tough time for my parents. But my childhood was not unhappy. From a Christian point of view there was never a choice. From day one it was, 'Right, this is how we live our lives. We go to church.' And that was it. There was a period when we attended a church that was very rigid and too legalistic. This did not help. I led too sheltered a life. I was not allowed to mix with non-Christians. I had no idea of what the big wide world was about.
EN: How did the break come about?
Carrie: Around the time I was baptised I had to go and live for a few months with my aunt and uncle who are not Christians. In that time I went to college. There I met many new people, and saw another side to life. I wanted to mix with my new non-Christian friends (boys as well as girls), go to discos and cinema etc with them and Mum and Dad did not approve and would try and stop me from meeting with them. There came a point where I could see two ways in front of me. There was the Christian way, which I saw as strict and legalistic and then there was the non-Christian way where I could live the way I chose. It was very black and white with no grey areas. I knew I could not do both. So I pulled the plug really on Christianity. It was a definite decision. I was not going to church. I was not going to pretend to live a Christian life.