Theresa Miller joins us this week sharing what it means to be desperate. She shares how releasing our children to Jesus is necessary.
What It Means to Be Desperate
When my children were young, I wondered what would cause them to cling to Jesus when they had everything they needed, including a healthy family with parents who loved each other and God, and were committed to loving them well.
Boy, did I have a lot to learn.
I figured my faith was shaped by losing what seemed like everything as a child. I lost my innocence at a young age, and after my parents’ divorce, I lost my dad, my possessions, and everything familiar.
So, what would my children’s reason be for clinging to Jesus?
Clinging to Jesus
What I failed to recognize is that we are all born with sin because of the fall (Romans 3:23). No matter how good we have it, there is still the unnoticed and misunderstood plague of generational sin. God provides insight on how we are born into sin.
The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.
This passage does not say that our father’s sins doom us. We are only responsible for our own sins. However, as Gina Birkemeier says in her book Generations Deep, former sins will impact us for three or four generations if we do not address them and begin breaking the cycle.
The good news is that Jesus has provided a way out for us. He is patient and desires good for us. He forgives our sins and makes the way for our healing when we are honest about our struggles.
My children have had a good life but still give in to greed, deception, selfishness, and entitlement. They still struggle with feeling alone, left out, or unloved. They still encounter the difficulties this life presents. Although they did not experience trauma in the way I did, we all still grapple with sin and shortcomings. Even children from healthy families can experience anxiety, worry, and depression.
As parents, we cannot perfectly fulfill all our children’s needs. If we did, they would have no reason to seek Jesus. The bottom line is we all desperately need our Savior.
But I’ve learned we must also be desperate for our children. We must take responsibility for our healing and correct our thinking to love and discipline them well. Yet, that alone won’t be enough. We must continuously pray for our children and surrender them to Christ.
We can strive to teach truth with grace, discipline our children, and model Christ to them. However, we will inevitably fall short. We will make mistakes, run out of time to accomplish everything, and exhaust our energy trying to be all we hope to be.
Ultimately, being desperate for our children, whether young or grown, means handing back to Jesus what He has entrusted to us. It’s releasing control of the perfect outcome, allowing for mistakes, and embodying grace.
It’s desiring to break the cycle of generational sin in our families and realizing it begins with our healing and commitment to Christ.
Sometimes, I witness beautiful moments where one of my children is growing in their faith and clinging to Jesus, and I think, “I didn’t do that.” My husband and I modeled our faith and taught them to the best of our abilities. We tried to create a nurturing environment to plant the seeds of strong faith, but we still fell short. Ultimately, Jesus pursues our children, refines them, and shapes their precious hearts to align with His.
Friend, do you struggle with releasing your children to Jesus? Keep praying for them and nurturing their faith, even if you don’t see immediate results. Don’t be disheartened by the challenges or the lack of daily progress. Trust that God is working in their lives. Be desperate for God to take control as you release your children to Him.
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
Meet Theresa
Theresa is adventurous at heart and dedicated to pursuing spiritual, mental, and emotional healing for the betterment of future generations.
Originally from the wooded East, Theresa now resides in the wide-open spaces of Wyoming, nestled near the Big Horn Mountains. She cherishes her role as a wife to Rob and mother to their four children. Weaving words has been her creative outlet since childhood, bringing clarity to life’s complexities.
Theresa actively serves in women’s ministries as a Bible teacher and MOPS Mentor in her community. Additionally, she is a COMPEL Pro member and leader of the COMPEL Bible Study Writing Focus Group. She is a contributing writer for the Girl Read Your Bible Study Group and co-founder of Dandelions, Potholes, & Wrinkles and The Sisters on Purpose Podcast. In July 2025, Theresa will publish her first Bible study, The Posture of Victory: Finding True Peace amidst Our Everyday Battles. She has also been published in Calla Press Literary Journal, Moms Ezine, (in)courage, and various other publications.
You can find Theresa encouraging women to dig deeper to reach higher in their faith and calling on Instagram, Facebook, her professional website, and the podcast she hosts with her sisters.
IG: @theresammillerauthor https://www.instagram.com/theresammillerauthor
FB: Theresa M. Miller, Writer https://www.facebook.com/heavenlyglimpses1
Substack: @theresammiller https://open.substack.com/pub/theresamiller
Professional website: www.theresammiller.com
Sister website: www.dandelionsisters.com
The Sisters on Purpose Podcast: http://sistersonpurposepodcast.podbean.com
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