The Jesus Response for Parents: 65 Letters on Love, Worry, and Raising Children

By John Pohl

Parenting can hold some of life's deepest love, and some of its deepest worry.

The Jesus Response for Parents contains 65 imagined letters from Jesus to fictional parents facing different moments of raising and loving their children. Each letter meets someone in a particular struggle and considers what Jesus might say to them through the compassion, patience, grace, and teachings found in the Gospels.

Some are worried about a child who is struggling. Some are questioning whether they made the right decision. Others are carrying guilt over mistakes, feeling overwhelmed by responsibility, or learning how to step back as their children grow older.

There are letters for the parent who wants to protect a child from pain, the parent who feels unappreciated, the parent who is exhausted, the parent whose child is becoming more independent, and the parent wondering whether love sometimes means holding on-or letting go.

Their circumstances may be different from yours, but something in their concern may feel familiar.

Inside you'll find letters exploring:
- Worrying about your child's future
- Guilt, mistakes, and the pressure to get parenting right
- Protecting without controlling
- Difficult decisions and changing family relationships
- Loving a child through disappointment or conflict
- Letting go as children become more independent
- Finding patience, grace, and perspective during difficult seasons

These letters don't promise perfect answers or suggest that faithful parents never feel afraid, frustrated, uncertain, or exhausted. Instead, they offer a place to bring those feelings honestly while reflecting on the love, patience, forgiveness, and wisdom at the heart of Christ's teachings.

The letters are fictional imaginings. They are not presented as literal messages from Jesus, quotations from Scripture, or a replacement for Scripture. They are reflections created to bring the love and teachings of Christ closer to the everyday joys, fears, responsibilities, and changes of parenthood.

Read the letters in order, or turn to one that speaks to what you're carrying today. Although each letter is addressed to someone else, you may recognize something of your own experience in theirs.

And if you know a parent walking through a difficult season, consider passing this book along with a prayer. Sometimes encouragement arrives when someone needs it most.

You will not get every moment right. Love can still keep showing up.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HMMXP5ZP
• ISBN13: 9798161479063
• Release Date: October 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 146 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"