SUBMITTED: Thursday, January 22, 2015

My name is Elizabeth. Please forgive my Spanglish. I truly think that God has a way to do things. I have a young adult child named, Angie, 22 years old. She is back home now after leaving 6 months ago to live with an older boyfriend who she met after a couple of weeks at the bar where she works. My husband and I never liked the idea of her working in a bar but she all of the sudden started doing things that seemed crazy to my husband and I. First she decided to get a loan in a bank to get augmentation surgery, then all of the sudden, I knew that she already saw a surgeon and already had a surgery appointment. Then she went to a school for 2 weeks to study bar tending and started working in a bar where all the real craziness started. She started coming late at first, then sometimes she was coming home late, so then when my husband and I tried to talk to her about her attitude and her lifestyle, so she decided to leave one day while I was working. I came home and she was gone. I felt like I wanted to die and kill myself. My beautiful daughter that was dedicated at church when she was a baby, and was coming to church and even taught children Bible classes, now started drinking, working seven days a week, two jobs, day and night to support the police officer boyfriend of 30 years old. Meanwhile she stopped the community college. I prayed so hard and talked to all the pastors that I could talk to, while inside I felt like an impending doom thinking the worse, like maybe she is dead. I knew there was a gun at their place and I knew my daughter had a short temper. My daughter finally came to me last month after almost 6 months away from home and told me that she had money problems and that she also broke up with the boyfriend. I told her that she could come home, help her pay the bills and of course pay it back, but I let her get away by accepting that she still could to go out whenever she wanted. Out of desperation I told her okay, but it was getting out of hand again and everyday at night she would leave home at 10 and come back 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 am, next day. I was afraid to be strong with her and I finally had to and told her that it was important to respect her body and her parents coming home early and not going out every day. She is now so much better, she is taking online classes to be a veterinarian but the temptation in her is too much. She has all these bar friends always calling her to go there and and I can tell that she wants to do it. She was doing this for six while living with the police officer. He found her conveniently these jobs, and my daughter would still all day long and work and be up all night long. Her body got used to. Now at home for a months I am working with her and she is even trying to get a day time job. I am praying every day and all the time because I believe in the power of Jesus. I am human too and I have my days when I feel weak and tired because I am always thinking how to handle this situation. People tell me that I have no life and this problem is consuming me, but she is my daughter, I can't give up and I trust in the Lord, I have faith in Jesus name. My husband just watches and not say much. The thing is that my daughter is back with the old boyfriend who used to date for couple of years who verbal abuses her and she is still working at the bars. I am praying for her to find a day time job, that she continuous school, leave the boyfriend, learn to be humble, but most importantly come back to the Lord. I also need a prayer for financial help because when she came back I had to pay all her debts. Thank you and God bless you. Mom