I have been meaning to put this up for a while. It is a prayer that I found in a great book on parenting. When I found it, we were in the beginnings of the "terrible two's" I think, and I was just so overwhelmed. This prayer made such a difference, and I would even say that right after I started praying this prayer, things changed. Not that the temper tantrum's disappeared or stopped, but I was just better prepared to deal with them. I realized that I didn't have to deal with everything perfectly and that God would take care of my mistakes in parenting, or Joel's mistakes as far as behavior. What a relief! So here is the prayer, taken from James Dobson's book, "The Strong Willed Child"“Dear Lord, You know my inadequacies. You know my weaknesses, not only in parenting, but in every area of my life. I’m doing the best that I can to raise Joel properly, but it may not be good enough. As you provided the fish and the loaves to feed the five thousand hungry people, now take my meager effort and use it to bless my family. Make up for the things I do wrong. Satisfy the needs that I have not met. Compensate for my blunders and mistakes. Wrap Your great arms around Joel, and draw him close to You. And be there when he stand’s at the great crossroads between right and wrong. All I can give him is my best, and I will continue to do that. I submit him to You now and rededicate myself to the task You have placed before me. The outcome rests securely in Your hands.”
3 John 4
“I have no greater joy than
to hear that my children are
walking in the truth.”
Obviously, I inserted Joel's name, but I just thought it was such a great prayer, so much so that I printed it up and put up in my bathroom. It is good to see it, as a reminder that God is in control of how Joel turns out. I have a lot of responsibility as far as being Joel's mom, and I want to do my best always in that area, but ultimately God is in control of Joel. He is the perfect Father. He can give us wisdom, when we think we have tried everything we know to do. He can and will give us patience when there are too many tantrums to count, or when brushing teeth becomes a national crisis, or when leaving the playscape is just too much to handle.... Thank You Lord for giving us such a giant task, one that is even more rewarding than it is difficult, but Thank You even more for not leaving us alone in that task. For walking us through every step!
