Prayer for Parents

I have been meaning to post this since gathering with a neighbor to pray the Stations of the Cross together on Good Friday. It was so special! Her Episcopalian church encouraged its parishioners to pray ecumenically with neighbors to honor our Lord's Crucifixion. While we prayed and walked around to various "stations" in our backyard, this passage especially spoke to me...

We pray for parents of this neighborhood and the world. Holy God, grant to all parents humility, wisdom, and love. Protect them from trying to make their children into what they want them to be; but give them the grace to help their children become what you intend them to be. Remind them to laugh more, and not to take themselves too seriously. Remind them that all children really want from their parents is to know that they love them. As the time comes, help mothers and fathers release their children from childhood; and through your grace, grant that child and parent may always remain connected, one to another...