Answers

No one ever told me how lonely and hard divorce can be.

“My husband and I stuck it out until the children were grown, but it's been two years now since the divorce and I'm beginning to wish I'd tried harder to keep us together. No one ever told me how hard and lonely it is. I don't have a question, but maybe my experience will help someone.”

Is it possible to change my rocky relationship with my mother?

“I've had a rocky relationship with my mother most of my life, and in fact we've hardly spoken in the last year. But recently, the mother of a close friend of mine died, and it's started me thinking if I ought to try to change this. But how do I go about it? Or is it even possible?”

Will I say the wrong thing and offend God when I pray?

“I grew up in a church that always used printed or memorized prayers in its services, and I'm having a hard time learning to pray on my own. I even worry if it's wrong to try praying in our own words, because we might say something wrong and offend God. Is this a danger?”

Is there any hope for our nation’s future?

“I get very disillusioned with the way our politicians squabble all the time. Do you see any hope for the future, or is our nation headed for the trash heap like every other civilization?”

Is believing in Jesus enough for me to be saved?

“Our pastor quoted something from the Bible that said we’d never see God unless we were holy. Well, I don’t consider myself a particularly holy person, because I know I’m not perfect. Does this mean it isn’t enough to believe in Jesus for our salvation?”

My mother was always an angry, critical person.

“My mother was always an angry, critical person who never got along with anyone, and while I was growing up I vowed I’d never be like her. But now I find that sometimes I’m just like she was, and it alarms me because I don’t want to be that way. What’s wrong with me?”