Prayers . . . for tough beginnings
Prayer From the Bottom of an Empty Nest
Heavenly Father, today someone simply mentioned the name of my absent child and I collapsed into having sobs, totally out of control in front of a near stranger. I miss my child. I know it's your plan for children to grow up and leave home, so why does it feel like someone ripped off one of my arms? I feel as if I was fired from the most important job I ever held. I loved doing it. This is so hard. Who am I if not a mother? I can't believe more than a third of my life still looms ahead of me. Where do I go from here?
I know she is your child. You just lent her to me for a while. Help me remember that and thank you for your gift. Show me my place in my child's life now. Show me how to love with an open hand - from a distance. Help me not to hold on to a child who needs to leave me behind in order to become mature. Help me cheer her on; help me to be happy for her.
Give me a new direction, Lord, a new purpose, a ministry. Replace my spirit of mourning with an attitude of gratitude and praise. Help me make you the center of my life. In Jesus' name, amen.
Turn and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.
Psalms 25:16