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I Am with You Wherever You Go

I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go (Genesis 28:15)

My oldest started first grade today. Yes, her school is holding in-person instruction five days a week. Though my husband and I are so glad she’s able to attend in person, I think we’re both feeling emotions that we haven’t wanted to feel. Preparation for this school year could only be described as anxiety-inducing. Pages and pages of safety protocols, masks and hand sanitizer, a “we-agree-not-to-sue-the-school-no-matter-what-happens” Covid waiver…how could we not be anxious?

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6).

This is my prayer for the start of this school year, for us and for all families:

Dear Heavenly Father, as this school year starts, we pray for our children, our little ones and not so little ones. Thank you for the gift and blessing of our children. You knew ahead of time that we would be guiding them through this pandemic. Give us wisdom and strength to make the hard decisions, to let go, and to model for them joyful trust in you. Protect them this year. Be with them and watch over them wherever they go, just as you have promised over and over again in your Word. Help us remind them often that their eternal wellbeing is secure in you, thanks to Jesus’ completed work of living, dying, and rising from the dead for them and for us. We pray for all teachers, school administrators, and school employees. Guide them in the difficult decisions they are making. Keep them in your care. Help them adapt to all the changes and teach well. Let them look to you for the peace we all need, and let that peace, your peace, reign in their hearts. Continue to bless my daughter’s school, and all schools everywhere. Renew our gratitude for opportunities to learn. Teach us that learning–in whatever form it may take–is a privilege we must not take for granted. Help us see each day of learning as a gift, and thank you for it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Just so I don’t leave you hanging, our daughter had a wonderful first day. According to the email our principal sent, she wasn’t alone. It was a joyful day back at school for the students and faculty. And, as I turn every anxiety over to God and trust in His watchful care of my little one, it is a joyful day for me, too.

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