This is my senior and her brother today, visiting his college. As much as I want to stay home, we drove in the car, walked around campus, drove through Chick-Fil-A and returned. I wouldn’t wish a college visit to an empty school on any high school senior.

I hardly even know how to pray these days, but I’m grateful for the group that joins me. This is today’s prayer for the Class of 2020.

Father,

I don’t know that there are any words I could come up with that adequately tell you that we understand: You are God and we most definitely aren’t. So I’ll open with David’s words instead.

Hear my prayer, O LORD,
Listen to my cry for mercy.
In the day of my trouble I will call to You,
For You will answer me.
Among the gods there is non like You;
No deeds can compare with Yours.
Turn to me and have mercy on me;
Grant Your strength to Your servant and 
Save the son of Your maidservant.
Give me a sign of Your goodness, 
that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,
For You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

Father, You HAVE helped and comforted us in the past. Today, in the midst of this very strange quarantine, help and comfort our kids especially. Show them where to hope–that in fact their hope begins with Jesus. Keep their hearts from being hardened, LORD. In uncertain times it can be very easy to turn inwards. Focus our kids’ eyes on You. And for us parents, give us extra measures of grace and patience. God, I can’t hide my heart from You. This is really hard–the plans we thought were set are only tenuous–and our kids aren’t the only ones who feel really, really sad. Walk with us, parents and seniors together, through this strange, unknown place. You were present in the wilderness, Father, and you led the Israelites with clouds and fire. Lead us in as unmistakeable a way as that.

Give us small moments at home with our kids while we are all trying to isolate ourselves. Shape our kids’ hearts in small ways as they step through their days, whether watching class videos or working on homework or just having quiet time at home. Use all of it to shape their hearts and turn them toward you, equipping them for a lives of love and service when they leave high school

Give all of us parents wisdom and the ability to hold our tongues, one of the hardest body parts to control! We fear the unknown, too, and that can make everyone’s nerves fray. Let sweet words, not harsh ones, be the run in all of our homes, remembering that harsh words can tear down so quickly what takes a lifetime to build.

Holy Spirit, help us in our weakness. We are hoping for what we do not see, on this earth and in Your kingdom. Teach us to wait with patience for the hope we don’t see. We don’t know what to pray sometimes. Holy Spririt, intercede for us now even though our sighs are only that. We can’t even put words to our feelings. We know You called our children–and us–according to Your purpose, and so we know that You, LORD, can and will work all things for good. Carry us through these rough places. Help us in our weakness. Lead us.

Thank You for the amazing teachers at our school who have stepped so boldly into on-line instruction. Thank You for the love they show our kids every day, but most of all now as they do a job they’ve never really done before.

We pray again for the administration of our school, and for Governor Kemp, and President Trump, and Dr. Fauci, and we also lift up all the unnamed researchers and doctors who are working so diligently for treatments. Give them incredible wisdom, stamina, and insight. Guide them to treatments and cures for this illness, and quickly, please, LORD.

And so we pray for every member of the class of 2020, their families, their health and peace of mind…[insert your kids’ names here]

Today we close with the words of St. Patrick, who drove out a plague of snakes from Ireland and led that island to know You:

May the strength of God pilot us;
May the power of God preserve us;
May the wisdom of God instruct us;
May the hand of God protect us;
May the way of God direct us;
May the shield of God defend us;
May the host of God guard us against the snares of evil and the temptations of the world.

Amen.

I hope you have a good weekend, full of health and sunshine. Spring has not been cancelled!