The Stressed Out Parent's Prayer

Life as a parent is certainly without its twists and turns. It could be likened to a rollercoaster ride, full of ups and downs -- on some days, you're exhilarated, full of joy and excitement; on others, you're a mixture of emotions and may feel like throwing up. There might even be days when you want to get off the ride altogether — to give up and throw in the towel.

I know this because these past two weeks found me going through everything I described above. Welcoming the New Year with children getting sick, one after another, ending with my husband catching the bug too, left me not a bit stressed out. There were also homeschool lessons to review, writing and editing work to finish, and chores to be done.

So I found myself taking deep breaths and trying to stay calm a lot of times this month. I failed miserably on many occasions, though, so I decided to come up with this prayer, especially for parents like me who may find themselves stressed out at one point or another:

The Stressed-Out Parent's Prayer

Our Father in Heaven

Hallowed be Thy Name.

(Help me to remember that Thou hast called me by name, especially to be a parent to my children.)

Thy Kingdom come,

Thy Will be done,

On earth

(especially in my home and in my heart)

As it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

(Plus a generous heaping of the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control, and goodness.)

And forgive us our trespasses

As we forgive those who trespass against us.

(Please grant us the humility to seek forgiveness from our children, and help them to forgive us, too, whenever we trespass against them.)

Lead us not into temptation,

(Especially help us to stay calm and collected and respond in a loving manner whenever we are tempted to yell or raise our voices or use hurtful words and actions.)

But deliver us from evil.

(Especially from the attacks of the evil one against our family, Thy "army" here on earth.)

Amen.

Now if only I can remember to pray this everyday, especially when I am starting to feel stressed. I think I'll print out copies of this prayer so I can post them around our home and memorize it. Pray for me, too, as I pray for all of you who are reading this.

Do you find yourself stressed out at times, especially during the busy days of parenting your children? Perhaps this prayer will be of help to you. What would you add to it if you could? Let us know in the comments!