Dear Lord?!!?

I am not typically a very religious person. But today, when I was having a difficult mom moment, I wrote this prayer.   To be as forthright as possible, I should note that I have NEVER before written a prayer – and it was not a moment of religious enlightenment – it was just me (feeling exhausted, annoyed, frustrated, and desperate) throwing my hands up in the air and saying “help!”

I addressed it as “Dear Lord” because those are two words I use often (however, I should confess, it is not said in a very kind tone – it is my go-to exasperated and annoyed exclamation) and it is the name I use to refer to a Higher Being. Please feel free to substitute with a name/title/being that is most comfortable for you.

Dear Lord,

Please give me the strength to deal with my children…

Help me to have…

• The patience to listen and care, even about the seemingly mundane and childish things,
• The understanding to know when to offer support and when to appropriately challenge,
• The ability to not get annoyed at their pestering and pushiness,
• The wherewithal to persist in being the mom that I want to be, instead of mentally and emotionally running away,
• The happiness and joy that I think I should be feeling more often,
• The endurance to continue with the day-to-day aggravations and humdrum tasks of raising children,
• The energy and enthusiasm to play and have fun with them,
• The empathy for their tears and crying and the awareness that their emotions are real – even when, to me, they seem to be excessively dramatic and over reactive,
• The knack to appropriately cope with their whining,
• The stamina to follow through with consequences and teachable moments,
• The kindness they deserve, especially when I am tired, drained, and spent.

And, please give me the capacity to forgive myself, when I can not find the strength to meet all these expectations.

Amen.

Today I am participating in Pour Your Heart Out Wednesday hosted by Shell at Things I Can't Say.
For some more great posts check out all the other blogger Pour Your Heart Out links!