Wind and Bone

Jehovah Shalom, The God who brings peace

You have created us intricately
We are known from long before our first gasp and are seen beyond our last ragged exhale
Every step and stage is known by you
In complexity and intricacy you have designed us and bear witness to our growth and development

Oh Curator of change who remains unchanging

We, the parents of those mysterious creatures called teens, ask humbly for an overflowing well of wisdom.
We, who journey with our young people
          sometimes in step 
          sometimes elbowed off the path
          sometimes in deep conversation
          sometimes in silence 
          sometimes in emphatic exasperation
          sometimes even in opposite directions
We are unpracticed, unstudied
Our uncoordinated stumbling and fumbling says both too much and too little
Balancing privacy and protection proves impossible

אֵל רֳאִי
You are the God who sees

         Our failures
         Our successes
         Our fervent attempts at instruction and correction
         Our sleepless nights and crowded days

Help us to be full of grace and forgiveness
Equip us with prudence lest we embitter our children
Remind us that You work in their lives despite our weakness and imperfection
As well as theirs

Cradle us when our arms are rejected
Hold us in our moments of frustration and desperation
Guide us, Shepherd of the lost ones and the found ones, as we learn to let go of control 
and hold on to love

We are all your adolescents, and you perfectly, 
Patiently

See us.