Prayer for single parents.
I'm solo-parenting it for three days. Except the daytime part of solo-parenting is me at work and our childcare provider with the girls. This means, I am on morning and night duty. Tonight all was well at 8:45pm. With one girl sleeping and the other laying down quietly I went downstairs and had a snack. Well the toddler decided that it was a night to fight it...so the wee one was awakened to her big Sister's hollers. Grrr. It took another hour to get that little one back to sleep.
All in all we are managing just fine though. I think what changes when it is just me is how vulnerable I feel. Knowing that I am in charge of this house and family all by myself leaves me feeling exposed. I am hyper aware of how things could fall apart at any moment and how I would have to figure them out.
My Sister was a single parent for awhile, I think that she learned she could do a lot more than she realized. But, she doesn't glorify the experience. I think that it still sucked. In all of this, I realize how screwed up our system is. We do NOT support single parents well enough as a society. We barely support partnered parents...and so for a deeply vulnerable population I am drawn to prayer.
Father God/Mother God.
We do not name you as both.
We name you singularly.
and perhaps, you God know something of loneliness
of being overwhelmed,
of being desperately overwhelmed with love and fear together.
Catch those who stand on the brink.
Be wisdom in the ears of those who have no adults to turn to to share with.
Share the parenting with those who are alone in it.
Hold their children close on the nights when their arms are to tired to hold.
Hold their hearts in love at the times when they are stuck in their failures rather than their successes.
Be in their body when exhaution, ill health, poor diet, and the need for a healing shower are limiting them.
And show us God- all that you might offer us- as parent, partner and friend.
Amen.
All in all we are managing just fine though. I think what changes when it is just me is how vulnerable I feel. Knowing that I am in charge of this house and family all by myself leaves me feeling exposed. I am hyper aware of how things could fall apart at any moment and how I would have to figure them out.
My Sister was a single parent for awhile, I think that she learned she could do a lot more than she realized. But, she doesn't glorify the experience. I think that it still sucked. In all of this, I realize how screwed up our system is. We do NOT support single parents well enough as a society. We barely support partnered parents...and so for a deeply vulnerable population I am drawn to prayer.
Father God/Mother God.
We do not name you as both.
We name you singularly.
and perhaps, you God know something of loneliness
of being overwhelmed,
of being desperately overwhelmed with love and fear together.
Catch those who stand on the brink.
Be wisdom in the ears of those who have no adults to turn to to share with.
Share the parenting with those who are alone in it.
Hold their children close on the nights when their arms are to tired to hold.
Hold their hearts in love at the times when they are stuck in their failures rather than their successes.
Be in their body when exhaution, ill health, poor diet, and the need for a healing shower are limiting them.
And show us God- all that you might offer us- as parent, partner and friend.
Amen.
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