Anonymous asked what food Daughter would get into while she was at my house. I confidently stated that the food would all be locked up. Unfortunately, I forgot that I had some dried blueberries by my chair in the family room. Even if I'd remembered, I may not have worried, because when she tried my dried blueberries a couple of months ago, she didn't like them. I forget that if all she can find to sneak is something she doesn't like, she will eat whatever it is she doesn't like.
She confessed quickly this morning (her blood sugar was over 200). I apologized to her for failing to keep her safe, and told her that she wouldn't be able to spend time here until I could keep her safe. I told her I'd pick her up for church on Sunday morning. I didn't accuse her or yell. My approach had an impact. She told me not to bother picking her up, "It's not worth it."
Remember a pastoral counseling class many years ago, I responded, "You are worth it."
She insisted she wasn't, but I didn't get sucked in. When she came to me after church, wanting the keys to my study so she could put things away, I refused to give them to her, telling her I had to keep her safe, and there was food in my study. She didn't like that.
She was going to come back to the house with me and do some work to earn some money, and then I was going to take her home after the worship service at the nursing home. Instead, I took her home right after lunch. From the calls I'm getting, she's having a rough afternoon. She's threatening to go live on the streets. I keep telling her I have confidence in her ability to turn things around. She's not happy that I'm refusing to engage.
I hope she figures out how to turn it around soon.
2 comments:
Well played!
Thanks. I was pretty pleased with my response. As she struggled with my response and how to respond, I had to keep hiding my smile.
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