Father God,
The year is almost over,
This year that You granted me
To enjoy and rejoice over my precious children,
To nurture and serve them,
To love them with a love that comes from You,
To pour out my life for them
As You poured out Yours for me.
Sometimes, I served with humility and selflessness.
Thank You, God, for Your grace
That enabled me to love my children well.
May any crumb of goodness they see in me
Remind them of the feast of love that You offer them.
Other times, I served not them, but myself.
Thank You, God, for Your forgiveness
And for my children’s forgiveness.
May any wound I have caused them not make them bitter,
But instead, lead them to rejoice in Your perfect healing.
There were moments this year that were beyond precious,
When I cuddled a sleeping child or held a small hand or talked heart-to-heart.
Then there were the joyous times,
When we watched a sunset together, or rode a roller coaster, or ate ice cream cones
And let the ice cream melt all over our faces and hands.
I thank you for all these matchless memories,
And I ask You to engrave them in my heart and in my children’s hearts
Forever.
There were also moments this year that were filled with sadness or grief.
Although I never would have asked for those circumstances,
I thank You for the indescribable beauty of Your comfort.
I thank You for these memories that were precious
In a completely different way,
And I ask You to engrave the feel of Your arms around them on my children’s hearts
Forever.
Engrave in them and in me the soul-deep knowledge
That You were with us through every failure and every success,
Every heartbreaking moment and every breathtakingly beautiful one.
You were in every step we took.
You were in every season and month and week and day and minute.
You were in every beat of our hearts
And in every breath.
You were above all,
And through all,
And in all.
You were, and are, Emanuel.
God with us.
Amen.