Urgency of Prayer

Friday Mike stayed home to see Trent off to school for his first time on the bus. (It was only later that he told me the manager at work told him it was a good idea because I would probably be a mess considering this was my first child.) So, we all walked to the end of the road to wait for the bus to come. There were about five other kids waiting. When the bus pulled up I told Trent to stand in front of the bus so I could get his picture. All the other kids got on, and Trent was finding a seat so I popped my head in to say Hi to the bus driver I've never seen or met but will be responsible for my child. I said, "This is Trent, he's in kindergarten." She looked at me with no emotion, and almost as if shrugging her shoulders replies, "Oh, OK." I guess I was hoping for, "Don't worry, I'll take good care of him. OR He'll be just fine, mom." She shut the doors, and I stretched up on my tip toes to see if Trent found a seat alright. And he was off - out of sight - and in the care of a complete stranger with several other children. So many things going through my head...Who will he sit with? What kind of conversations will he have? Who will greet him when he gets to school? Will he remember how to get to his classroom? and so on. I hoped that the things we have tried to instill in his heart and mind would guide him as he's "on his own." The lump in my throat grew. I walked back to the house behind Mike and Drew, blinking back the tears that were about to flood over. "Lord, please watch over Trent today." That urgency to pray for him was great. I began to think of specific ways I could pray for him and that began a hunt (on the internet) for any "words of wisdom" I could find from other moms who I was sure had felt that same feeling in their gut as they watched their child ride away into this big bad world.

I decided to try and be organized about it. I printed out some great resources, put them in pocket protectors and inside a 3-ring binder designated as my new prayer journal. Back when we lived in MI and I worked with Sparks, my leader gave me a really neat note card with "31 Biblical Virtues to Pray for Your Kids." I copied it so I have one hanging on my fridge and one I keep in my bible. These are great, I just correspond the day it is with one of the virtues and usually as I'm preparing a meal I also pray that for my boys. Click here to print off your own copy. I came across another really neat way to pray for my kids. Praying Head to Toe uses "scriptur[e] to pray for my children...using the Bible to ask God's blessing on various aspects of their lives. This method works for all children, no matter how old they are or what they're going through." So don't be afraid to ask me how I'm doing as I seek to faithfully lift up my kids to my Heavenly Father - who loves and cares for them even more than I could.

And now for some pictures...