Best of 2011 – Parenthood

I love the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. It’s like the world universally agrees to slow down. Traffic is light. Many people take vacation from work. Naps are added to daily routines. And, we can all take a deep breath.

I’m doing just that and taking the week off! But, I thought I’d leave you with some of the most popular posts of the year in each Intention category. 

Not only is this the most popular post in the Parenthood section, this one is the most popular post ever on Every Breath I Take. When I originally shared it, I mainly wanted to document it for myself. I’m beyond honored that so many people have enjoyed it!

Dear Father,

Please envelop her in your Love. Show me minute-by-minute how to be an example of that Love, so that she might see its Source and give it freely to everyone she meets.

Please let her see the ocean of Grace that she swims in. May it endlessly drip from me to her to everyone she meets.

Please give her a heart for those of this world, while helping her find identity, comfort, strength and peace in You.

May her view of herself and others never be limited to what’s on the outside. Give her eyes to see souls.

Lord, let her see the problems of this world, but not be bogged down by them. Give her patience, wisdom and motivation to search for, and take part in, Your solutions.

May she not just say “please” and “thank you.” May she know she is entitled to nothing and therefore feel grateful for everything.

Please help Derek and me to be an example of Love and covenant that might inform her always.

Help her to learn from the past, to plan for the future, but mostly, to be porous to the moment.

Please maintain this spirit of curiosity that thrives in her today. May everything she discovers with it reveal more of You to her.

May she create. May her creations always delight, glorify and honor You!

May she find joy in running, jumping and playing, but also know how to abide in stillness.

I pray for her friends. May they be many, but not so many as to inhibit depth, intimacy and connection. May they be instruments of Love and Grace to each other.

Help me and her other chauffeurs to model, teach and practice safe driving so that she might be the safest driver ever, and I might sleep at night when that time comes.

I pray for her future husband. May he know, with every fiber of his being, what Love and covenant are.

You know the sound of her deep, belly laugh, Lord? May she have reason to intoxicate those around her with the sound of it at least once every day!

Please be in our relationship. May we both daily cherish the beauty and blessing that is mother-daughter relationship. (May that mean that she calls me often when she doesn’t live under my roof!)

Please give her enough tomorrows to allow for her hair to turn white as snow, her face to get as wrinkly as her feet get after a day of fun in the pool, and her iPad100’s memory to be maxed out with pictures of her kids, grandkids, great grandkids and even a few great, great grandkids.

In Your Son’s Name I Pray,

Amen

What are your prayers for your kids? I would love to see some of them in the comments!