A Prayer

Tears came flowing from my eyes tonight as I looked over her packed bags.  They are filled with clothes and shoes and school books, and books for enjoyment, and some other books (because she can’t travel without her favorite things), and a camera to capture the world from her own view.  Tonight I added my favorite Hawkeye sweatshirt.  She couldn’t care less about the Iowa Hawkeyes, but that sweatshirt is my favorite thing to wear at home, and it smells like me, and it is WAY too big for her…and I am praying that while she is gone from me she can wrap herself up in it if she misses me and feel closer to home.

At 15, and an old soul, most people who meet her feel that she is old enough to be off in the world alone.  She looks like she is ready for college.  I would probably struggle less if she were leaving for college right now, but she isn’t.  She’s suffering, and has since that fateful night over a year ago.  Providence, Rhode Island is so very far away from home, but there is a very special man there who has all the skills needed to help her heal from the injuries that are robbing her of freedom.  And at 15 years old, I am sending my oldest baby away from my side, fully entrusting her into her Creator’s hands.  He made her once, and He is going to remake her again.  I am going to miss her so intensely for the next 8 weeks.  In fact, I can hardly breathe thinking about it.  She isn’t just my daughter, she’s one of my dearest friends.  And since that night she has been one of the only other people in this world that knows how hard it has been and still is.

So rather than just crying non-stop, I am praying for her and will continue to do so until she is back in our nest.  If you read this, and are so inclined, you could join me in praying this over her as well. There would be no greater gift another person could give me than to come before God on my daughter’s behalf.   

Dear God, please be with my sweet girl.  Please gather her up into Your arms and carry her close to Your heart.  She is leaving our home- our coverage-but You, You will NEVER leave her.  (Isaiah 40:11) Please continue to make her radiant as she gazes upon You.  Encamp angels around her as she goes.  Please hear her cry and deliver her.  (Psalms 34)  Lord, You have promised that she will see goodness in the land of the living, help her as she waits for You.  (Psalms 27:13-14).  Turn Your face towards her- she is so lonely and troubled.  Guard her life and rescue her.  (Psalms 25)  I believe fully that You, You her creator, give strength to the weary and increase the power of the weak.  She is so young and she is weary and tired, BUT she places all her hope in You…and You will renew her strength.  She will soar on wings like an eagle.  Lord, You will help her to run and not grow weary, to walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:29-31)  Lord God, please repay her for this last year, a year that has been devoured by pain and heartache.  (Joel 2:25)  When she feels the length and difficulty of the days ahead of her, please help her call to mind that because of Your great love she is NOT CONSUMED, and Your compassions never fail.  Meet her every morning with the mercies she needs for that day.  Lord, you are FAITHFUL to all Your promises.  (Lamentations 3:19-23)  Lord, there is no where that she can go and be out of Your hand.   Even in the darkness of uncertainty of all that her future holds, You are there, and there is NO darkness in You. You created her inmost being, you knit her together perfectly in my womb.  Every day of her life was ordained by You, and you knew every step she would take on this earth.  Lord, Your works are wonderful, and You made her fearfully and wonderfully.  You created her collagen to stretch so that her neck would stretch and not break in the car that night.  You made her this very way, and it was not a genetic mistake but an ordained plan to save her earthly body until she is done radiating Your goodness to everyone she meets (Psalms 139).  Lord, may she dwell in the shelter of You, the Most High, and rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  Save her from danger.  Cover her with Your feathers, and be a refuge for her while you make her strong again.  Command your angels regarding her, to guard her in all her ways.  They will lift her up in their hands to protect her as she walks far from our home.  Lord, she is calling upon Your name, and You will answer and be with her.  (Psalms 91)  Lord, please heal her body, so that Your great name and renown will be seen and made clear on the earth.  We will never stop singing of the works of Your hands, and the love You have bestowed upon us.  I know that I am far from righteous, but Lord I know that you hear my cries for her deliverance.  Many have come before You on her behalf.  Please Lord, let her be delivered now so that she can walk forward into the world proclaiming Your faithful work.  Please be with this momma, sending her away ravishes my heart.