Heavenly Father,

What a sweet privilege it is to be handpicked as a mom and to partner with you on the sacred assignment of raising my children.

Father, you know how inadequate I often feel for the high calling of motherhood, how unprepared to tackle the phases of my kids’ lives and all the messes (and moods!) it brings. But I thank you that you never called me to be a perfect parent. You remind me, instead, that I can bring my weaknesses to you and through them your strength is made perfect. I thank you that I don’t need to claim that I am enough on my own, but I can cling to the truth that through Christ I am everything I need to be for my children.

Lord, you know how I struggle with my failures, with regrets about what I “should” have done for my kids. I struggle with how I was not present enough or how I may have let them down as a parent. But, Father, I thank you that you are a God who writes a story of redemption. You can take those broken pieces and those incomplete bits and you can meld them together to create something far more beautiful than I can ever imagine. So, Lord, I ask that despite my mistakes and mess-ups, my children would thrive, not because they are deemed successful in the eyes of the world, but because their fruitfulness comes from abiding in you.

Every year, as Mother’s Day comes around, Lord, I confess that I tend to get somewhat entitled. I focus on myself and let my thoughts dwell on how I “deserve” the acknowledgment. Sometimes, I even let my thoughts wander down hallways of self-pity as I think about “how much” I’ve done for my family and how little they’ll ever know of that “sacrifice.” But, Lord, instead of putting myself in the spotlight on Mother’s Day, would you take center stage? When I put myself at the center, I tend to get prideful. When I put my husband at the center, I tend to get resentful. When I put my kids at the center, I tend to helicopter them and attempt to live vicariously through them. So, Lord, I ask that Jesus would take his rightful place at the center of my heart, my life, and our home, not just on Mother’s Day but always.

Father, I pray for those who are parenting without the support of a spouse. Lord, remind those moms that you are the ever-present in their time of need. I pray for those who are hurting because they’re walking through the overwhelming grief of losing a child. Lord, would you be their comforter and healer in this heart-wrenching hour? And, Father, I pray for those who yearn to hold their own babies, but whose arms and wombs remain empty. Lord, would you hold these sisters of mine extra close to your loving heart, and when the emptiness resounds would you remind them that you are their Emmanuel?

Being a parent is far from easy and it pushes and stretches and breaks and sifts me in all sorts of ways. But I’m reminded that you gently lead those that have young. As I pour into my children, you, my Abba Father, ever-so-graciously come alongside me, as my strength, my encourager, and my counselor.

Help me, Lord, to always recognize and celebrate the incredibly wild joy of investing in our kids.

I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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