The teenage years are sometimes among the most agonizing seasons in life mdash for both parent and child In my adolescent quest to ldquo individuate rdquo from my mother I openly rejected her values and rebelled against her rules suspicious their purposes were merely to make me miserable Though we rsquo ve since come to agree on those matters that time in our relationship was riddled with tension Mom undoubtedly lamented my refusal to heed the wisdom of her instructions knowing they would spare me unnecessary emotional and physical pain God had the same heart for His children Israel God [... more]