PRAYING FOR OUR NATION

There are some things that as parents we should never have to experience. The list starts out small just like your children. No parent wants to have a child get sick. I am talking about everything here, like running a fever because they are cutting teeth to having a belly ache because they ate the ENTIRE bag of Halloween candy. It is miserable watching your child in pain and we try to correct the situation as soon as possible.

We hate seeing our children be selfish or being ungrateful. Some of the first things that we do as parents are to teach our children to share their toys and to say thank you after they have been given something. These are minor things but they shape the character of the child and that is extremely important later in life.

We hate seeing our children not apply their talents and resources. Have you ever had a musically talented child who refused to practice? How about a child who was artistic but refused to develop those talents because they weren’t considered cool? What about the one who would not do their homework or study for a test and then brings home bad grades? This is just the normal life of a parent.

Then the years of pure torture for a parent starts. The Learner’s Permit and Drivers License are issued and with that comes dating. While it is fun to be able to send your child to the grocery store for you on occasion it is not worth the worry of having a teenager on the road. Speeding tickets are not something to look forward to. Fender benders are almost a given but hopefully, they are minor. And watching your child date someone that you can’t stand is like having your insides twisted into knots on a daily basis.

But none of that compares to the parent that has to bury their child. I watched in horror last night a slideshow of the pictures of the victims of the school shooting in Flordia. The slideshow moved from victim to victim at a very slow rate. It gave me time to really look at each person and to wonder about them. I looked in their eyes and thought about the hopes they had, the plans that had been made. I saw that some of them had scholarships and plans to go to college. Some were Freshmen and some were Seniors but all of them were someone’s child.

I have been using a journal that my friend and blog reader, Brandye, sent to me. Yesterday’s passage for me to read was Genesis 2:7,

⁷ Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

The Lord created every child, He created the teachers, and He created the shooter also. Every one of the people involved including the rescue personnel, the surviving students, the doctors and nurses, the community of family and friends, and all of us watching in horror were created by the Lord. And, every one of us could use prayers. Prayers for healing, prayers for comfort, prayers for forgiveness, and prayers for our nation.

No parent should ever have to bury their child and no nation should have to ever experience this type tragedy.

Please remember to pray for those involved. And don’t forget to hug your children a little tighter today.

Psalms 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Have a Blessed Day!