The Every Day Prayer for Special Needs Parents

From the moment your child is born, you learn instantly that your life is no longer your own.  You live to nurture, teach, and protect your child. Every day from then on is based on your insuring their being healthy, safe, and happy. Your life is filled with love, hope and worry.  For parents of children with disabilities, our hopes and worries are amplified by a thousand times, as we are never truly at peace in the absence of our children. Every day is faced with different challenges across all settings, all people, and varying circumstances. Every day, our strength, patience, and other virtues are tested in different ways.  I share with you my everyday prayer:

"Lord, you are the knower of all things and I am so grateful for every day that I draw breath and live in the world you created. I thank you for the blessings you've given me and my family. I ask for your continued love, guidance and help.

Please keep my son out of harm’s way.  Protect him from any danger and make sure those who are caring for him have an intuitive and watchful eye.

Please make sure my son is treated fairly and that her dignity is upheld at all times. 

​Please help my son to communicate or improve his ability to communicate effectively.  Help him to express his thoughts, desires, needs, dislikes, pain, fears, hopes. Help him to become a successful self advocate who speaks up by letting others know when he or someone else is being mistreated and where change and improvement is needed.
​

Please give others the patience and compassion needed to understand, teach, befriend, and help my daughter.

Please give my son the knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom to make the right decisions in his life.

Please give me the strength and perseverance to withstand the ignorance and cruelty of others, help me recognize those moments for which I can teach them compassion.

Please give me the ability and foresight to inspire and promote change in flawed systems in a collaborative and problem solving fashion.

Please help me to remember to acknowledge the goodness in my family, friends, educators, and others.

Please help me to be a stronger and better person. Help me to believe that I can make a difference and that my contributions, regardless of how small or infrequent, matter.

Please help me to remember to take one day at a time and to take care of myself.

Please help me channel my anger into positive energy that supports positive outcomes.

Lord, please help my family and I to lead our lives in accordance to your will as best as we can.

Amen.