Sweeping Divorce Debris Under the Rug (The New Divorce Party)

Because of our ever creative ways of downplaying the negative side of divorce you may start hearing about the “new divorce party.” Granted, “divorce” and “party” are not words most adult children of divorce put in the same sentence, but divorce parties are not uncommon. The difference, is now some moms and dads are celebrating the divorce together.

Jennifer Brant writes having this type of divorce party demonstrates the parents are, “showing enough maturity to put your children first and showing friends that relationships can still be maintained.” * However, Brant, a lawyer, admits that high levels of animosity in most divorces will limit this type of celebration. Praise God! No…wait a minute…

But while trying to comprehend this, I was reminded of adult children of divorce who’ve asked me how parents can be so clueless to the debris behind their divorce(s)? Ever wonder that? Do you get sad or angry sometimes at their apparent naivety or denial?

These steps may help:

Watch Brant’s interview.  Observe how the divorce topic is handled. Picture this at 8:15 AM on your local morning show just days before Christmas (which is when it aired).

Write down or verbalize your thoughts after the video. Agreement? Disbelief? Sadness? Anger? Pain? Numbness?

Pray to God. “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” ** 

God wants to heal your heart. If this video evokes some emotion because it triggers memories of your parents, spell it out to God in detail.

Psalm 142:1-2 says, “I cry out loudly to God, loudly I plead with God for mercy. I spill out all my complaints before him, and spell out my troubles in detail.” ***

Giving our hurts to God helps prevent those hurts from coming out in destructive ways which often hurt our loved ones.

Commit this year to learning how your parents’ divorce impacts you, and how to navigate through the debris field successfully.

We can’t change our parents’ behavior, but each day we can take steps toward our healing. May God bless you with His unfailing love, ultimate trustworthiness, and His joy in the midst of your divorce-related craziness. And may you never want a divorce party.

* http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/a-new-type-of-divorce-party-35331/ ** 1 Peter 5:7, NLT *** Psalm 142:1-2, Message.