a blessing for parents when their kids didn’t get the year they deserve

Oh God, this never-ending pandemic
has taken so much from our kids,
and as parents we have not been able
to make up the difference.

Oh God help us.
help our kids.

God have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Spirit have mercy.

And He took the children in his arms,
placed His hands on them
and blessed them.
mark 10:16

God, what a thought
that You could take our kids in Your arms
and touch them, hold them, bless them.
oh how we long for that
we have seen our kids suffer too long
from the isolation and stress,
from the worries
that they can’t even articulate.

God, a year is a long time in their lives,
and they are missing out.
our kids need friends,
sleepovers, birthdays,
funerals, weddings and graduations,
they need an education
that feeds their growing minds,
they need homes
that provide safety and security
– body and soul.

But God,
for many of us now it’s just true,
that we’re barely getting by.

Blessed are we,
their parents who need to be held
(for we are your kids too)
and ask You to
bring this pandemic to an end.
and in the meantime,
help us, as their parents,
to find a way to burrow underneath
all the layers of need
and speak love and strength
into the core of their being,
that our kids might grow up beautifully,
like You, full of grace and truth.

God have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Spirit have mercy.

Take your kid in your arms.
in this moment, love is enough.
For both of you.