The Financial Burdens of Adult Children 

It is difficult to watch adult children go without. This is especially true when there are grandchildren in the home.  Suffering is a quiet teacher that requires angels to take a role of comfort and take a step back from the role of provider.

Jessica tried to raise her children to be independent, but they didn’t seem to grasp the concept very well. As they got older, they struggled to maintain a job, pay their bills on time, and keep food in the house. Jessica helped her children out from time to time, but only when the need was dire. She didn’t help them unless their car was getting repossessed or unless their electricity was getting turned off. The problem was that her children didn’t seem bothered by those setbacks and allowed for the electricity to get turned off fairly regularly.

When her children had grand babies, Jessica became a little more vigilant. She didn’t want to see the cute darlings suffer for their parents’ mistakes. Jessica knew that helping her children more would result in her children not learning life lessons, but she felt that she had to protect the grandchildren. Jessica was able to keep food and electricity in the house, but her adult children did not grow emotionally.

Jessica realized that she was going to have to go through the emotional pain of watching her children and grandchildren suffer. It was going to be hard to do, but she knew it was the only way they were going to learn. Jessica would still offer love. She would offer advice, when they asked. She would be a listening ear, when they requested. She would not interfere with consequences that were clearly derived from personal choices.

It was initially very painful for Jessica to watch her children and grandchildren suffer at the hands of her children’s choices. Over time, her children started to learn from the consequences of their actions. What Jessica realized was that she was protecting herself from feeling worried, whenever she helped her children out financially. In protecting herself from worries, she was not allowing her children to grow. She realized that consequences are a merciless, but often necessary teacher.