How should I have reacted...

Today my child told me that they were not returning to school next semester because it was too hard.  What I heard was, I don't want to work and go to school because then I will have no time for what I want to do.  How you and dad have brought me up with a hard work ethic means nothing.  I reacted badly.  This child has caused me so many sleepless nights and many many tears because of the path that they are on right now.  They cannot see the big picture and are choosing to live in the now.  One thing I have always told my children is that I have been in their shoes, but they have not been in mine as a parent.  Their dad and I really do know what we are talking about.  We both had adult lives before we accepted God's gift of salvation and grace.  We did not want them to have that heartache, so we thought we brought them up in the admonition of the Lord.  But they have to accept the gift themselves, I cannot do that for them.

I do know that the only thing I can consistantly do for my adult children is pray for them as well as myself.  For God to bring us to a place where we hear His truth and connect with Him and each other.