A Back to School Prayer

The back to school blues are setting in. We are about two weeks away and I can feel myself sliding down memory lane, in denial that my ‘babies’ will be in fourth, third and second grade soon.

How did that happen? I have no idea.

I vividly remember prying little fingers off my arm as a bus aide carried my oldest son to his seat on the first day of Kindergarten.

It seems like just yesterday I turned around and cried as my younger son’s face smashed against the bus window complete with tears and snot.

Every year I stroll down memory lane remembering the first days of the past and praying for the ones to come. If you, too, are struggling with the back to school blues as the summer comes to an end, this prayer is for you.

Dear Heavenly Father,

It seems like just yesterday you entrusted me with your precious children and now I’m entrusting them to the teachers and staff at the school. These people will spend more awake hours in the day with my children than I will and for them I pray.

Lord, I lift up the teachers, staff and administration in our schools. I pray they feel appreciated and loved for the job they do. I pray they recognize the importance of their role and embrace the challenge of loving even the most misbehaved in the classroom. Please fill them with your grace and understanding as they encounter children from different walks of life and in different levels of understanding. Father, give them patience for the children in their rooms, but also for the parents.

Father, I lift up all children as they embark on their new year. Whether it be preschool, middle school or college, may they feel the security of your love. I pray each and every one of them are filled with confidence and kindness. God, I know you hold all children in the palm of your hand and I trust you to keep them safe.

Father God, I lift up the parents who are sending their children into the world. Please fill us with the same confidence in ourselves as we hope for our children. Fill us with the belief that we’ve done our job well and our children will succeed. Lord, wrap your comforting arms around us and ease our worries, our anxieties, our pain.

As back to school nears, God, we need you. As children, parents, a community, we need your love and grace. I pray love and kindness overflow in our community and the back to school blues are washed away.

Lord, I invite you back into the schools, into the hearts of all children. I pray your name is glorified and not one child comes to the last day of school not knowing who you are.

In your most perfect name,

Amen