Parenting Solutions: praying for your kids

I read a really helpful blog (or maybe it was an article?) several months ago. I realize it would be the polite thing to do to give credit to the person who gave the advice, but I have no idea who it was anymore. I stink at stuff like that. 

 Anyway, the blog (I think) was written by a mom with a particularly tough kiddo. Not for any diagnosable reason, but just because she was tougher than the average child. The mom said she was up to her eyeballs in frustration with this child so she decided to take a new approach. While her child was sleeping she would pray over her and would whisper to her child everyday that she was precious to her. I appreciated that she used the word "precious" because "love" is so overused and because when I hear it I envision something beautiful and fragile. I started doing the same thing with M. Although, I'd be lying if I said I do it daily, I can say that when I hold myself accountable to it I see a huge difference. Not in her necessarily, but in the way that I see her. It keeps me from seeing her as a list of behaviors and instead it reminds me that she is hurting and healing and most importantly, that she was created by the Lord and that she belongs to Him and that He loves her so much more than I do. 

There is nothing like a sleeping child to remind you of just how vulnerable they really are and there is nothing like prayer to remind you of how much you need the Lord so that you can love your child in real and tangible ways. To that end, I am going to be more mindful of praying over each of my children before I go to bed each night. There is nothing more important I can do for them.