When You Feel Like You Are Carrying the Family Alone - Your Nightly Prayer - November 14
When You Feel Like You Are Carrying the Family Alone
TONIGHT'S SCRIPTURE
Cast your cares on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. - Psalm 55:22
SOMETHING TO PONDER
I don’t think anyone reading this who has a child, or even a niece or nephew, would disagree that parenting is a wild ride. Kids come with a simple issue: they do not have instructions tied to their toes on arrival, and so we parents spend weeks working out each cry, only for that season to speed through. Then it’s the joy of teaching potty training, how to use spoons, to talk, to listen, to obey,y and critically think… and all of a sudden, they are 18 and you are loving an adult child.
It is not easy, but it is an incredible gift to love a tiny person all the way into adulthood and beyond. It is hard work, even stressful at times, but the reward is worth it.
Nonetheless,s even as parents, we could all admit that raising a child alone is one of the most taxing things a person can do. Whether that is because your spouse has passed away, divorce has ended what you thought would be there, or you were pregnant out of wedlock, the truth remains the same: it's hard going. There is no time off, no time to breathe, and the weight carried by one person is insurmountable. But isn’t it wonderful to know we have a good Father who understands the weight and desires to help us carry it?
Whether you are in the throes of newborn life, toddler tantrums, starting school days, or teens who love to push back, the Lord wants to be in that with you. This scripture reminds us where we need to cast those weighty cares and to whom. Not only to share them with fellow parents or family, but to take them first and foremost to the Lord, who will sustain you in the hard season by His grace and his almighty strength. But also, there is hope in this verse that God will not allow you to be shaken. Even on those nights when you feel alone or that hope is lost, God is there. That is a moment that could be Holy Ground if you just reach out to Him and allow Him to restore the broken moments, fix the damage, and enter the empty spaces.
For those of us who are caregivers and parents with no spouse, I urge you today to trust in God again and watch as He helps you carry those heavy responsibilities in His hands.
YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER
Father God,
As I sit here this evening, contemplating all the things I have accomplished today and those I haven’t even started on, I ask you to come and be present with me through the Holy Spirit.
My days are full of weighty moments. I fear getting my parenting wrong; I worry that my child will lose out on a full family, but I know that you are a father to the fatherless, and the one who provides, so I trust you to put yourself into the gaps in my home, to carry the weight alongside me, and to help me by guiding me and my child through this wild ride of parenting.
I love you, and I know you are always with me even when I feel alone.
In Jesus name
Amen.
THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON
Do you have a support network you could lean on? Or do you need to find your village?
Have you taken time recently, even within your means, to sabbath? To breathe in the Lord's presence and breathe out the stress, even if that’s only 5 minutes, while in the shower, or doing dinner?
Rest easy, friend; I can guarantee you are probably doing so much better at this old parenting thing than you realize. Loving your child is more than enough!
Reflect on tonight’s prayer and share how God met you there. Join the Your Nightly Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.
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