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Encouragement for Mothers Who Are Estranged from Their Child
I Have Been There, and You Will Survive
This morning I read a post on Facebook written by a mother whose 21-year- old daughter has stopped talking to her. She drove 4 1/2 hours to her college to have breakfast with her and her daughter refused to see her. Heartbroken, she drove the 4 1/2 hours back home.
In her comment she said “Actually, I’m not enough.”
My heart broke for her. I wanted to gather her into my arms and say, “You are enough! You have always been enough. Even when you were messing up, you were enough.”
You see, I have a daughter who is not speaking to me, as well. And just like the people who responded to this heartbroken mom, people said to me, “She will realize how much she needs you and she will be back. Kids go through this sometimes.”
Most of those well-meaning people have never had a child turn away from them. Their comments were meant to comfort me, but instead, they kept me in a state of guilt and shame. If she doesn’t come back, then that must mean I am a terrible mother.
It has been 8 years since my daughter cut me out of her life. For a long time, I lived with the hope that someday she would come back. I reached out over and over with cards, letters and gifts. She…
