Will starts to school, today, Lord —    

his first day of first grade.

He is so innocent and so ready to learn.

But what he may learn could chip away at his character and erode his belief in You and in himself.

My impulse is to protect him —

          that’s the grandmother in me.

But save me from letting the “protection instinct” take the form

          of cocooning him from those experiences

                   that could build his character and develop his moral muscle.

Let my “protection” take the form of prayer

          so that You can equip him with the whole armor of faith —

                    a faith forged through experience and choices

                             and not through withdrawal and fear.

Remind me of ways to make Your Word a part of his days —

          show me ways to make his real life an object lesson for Your wisdom.

                   May I show him joy!

Let the breastplate of right living be a joyous thing for him to remember

          as he leaves our family circle to enter the world.

And may the warmth of love, forgiveness and grace

          draw him always back home.

Lord, I give You Will today.

You promised:  “I, Myself, the Lord God, will shepherd my sheep.”

Count Will in on that, would You?

 

Excerpt from “A Book Of Simple Prayers” by Gloria Gaither

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