Lord God Almighty, you know that childcare is a tricky endeavor.
I remember when I had three preschoolers and the babysitter would cancel, and I would get to feel like a bad professional and a bad parent both at the same time.
Today, I still feel like “balance” is a misnomer for what it is a parent has to do to care.
As we enter into this new kind of school year it is with many deep breaths (Come Holy Spirit, Come!) and the attempt to set reasonable expectations.
You know, God, that caring for a child never ends.
How many times have I told my children “Nope, sorry can’t stop worrying and caring it’s my job” (although I do try not to worry all the time).
Help all those who have inadequate childcare in their life right now, which I’m going to guess is pretty much every parent of a young or disabled child. Please Lord, walk with them as they try to do all the things that need to get done.
Lord God, this is a new landscape. One in which we in my country are asking ourselves the very important question–do we care about our children? Is child-care a part of our community?
I’ll never forget the one church I worked at, where children ran around and were loud and were let to be children. And my baby was always being held by someone else. Because it was a church that valued nurturing my child.
When my child was baptized there, I knew they took their baptismal vows seriously.
Does the kingdom of heaven look like childcare?
Today I think it does, please God help us to bring that reality to this kingdom here today.
Amen.
All Prayers can be used/adapted with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta
More Mundane Prayers: for surviving the Day to Day
Here is the Link for Pandemic Prayers and Resources: Top Posts are “In an Abundance of Caution” “The Lord is My Shepherd: What kind of Sheep are You” and “Masks: A Prayer”