Tuesday, September 3, 2013

A Parent's Prayer

A Parent’s Prayer
Lord, I waved goodbye this morning to a young girl sitting in a yellow school bus.
            Oh, I know she wouldn’t want me to call her a young girl.
            It takes all of our efforts just to get her off her I-devices.
            She would rather text her friends than talk to me.
            I offered her scrambled eggs for breakfast, but she rolled her eyes and took her cereal into her room.
 
I still remember the first time we did this.
            I took a video of her almost every step as she got ready for school.
            She was young and excited and full of wonder.
            We took a lot of pictures and all walked together down the sidewalk to the bus stop.
            I didn’t even have to think about recording everything on video.
            We talked to the bus driver and waved with all of our strength as the yellow bus drove away.
            She took our hearts with her.
 
The world is scary.
            Today we wonder about safety and violence and whether all of this technology is too much.
            Every time the sirens go off near the school my heart turns over.
            I pray that the teachers will notice her amidst the crowds of kids.
            We’ve shared our expectations with her and are confident she’ll do well.
            But who knows what will happen.
            We pray that she will grow in her mind and her heart and her spirit.
            We want her to grow to be the person God desires for her to be.
            Our concerns are no different than every other parent’s in our neighborhood.
            But that doesn’t make it easier to watch the yellow bus drive away.
 
Another year has started.  Summer is over.
            She rode away with our dreams
            Keep her safe, keep her interested, keep her as enthusiastic as that first day.
            She still is young and excited and full of wonder.
 
The yellow bus has driven away.
            We didn’t wave from the bus stop today, but she still took our hearts with her.      

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