Article
by
It was 2010 when my wife and I dropped off our first child at kindergarten. It was a difficult season for us. In that season, I had faced losses that crippled my ability to trust that God was good. I had been pastoring for only 10 years but had seen much loss already in that short amount of time. I was questioning God’s ability to take care of my kids better than I could. The tragic Columbine High School shootings in Colorado in 1999 created a shared fear, an unhealed wound in the heart of every parent, a national nerve exposed.
Our son was ready to go, but we were not ready. He had his blue and red owl backpack filled with crayons, a water bottle and snacks just in case. Silly bands, all the rage back then, covered his right arm like a tattoo sleeve. I paused before exiting the car because the fear of loss I had known for years as a pastor was tangible in letting my firstborn son go for the very first time.
We stepped out of the car and walked across the parking lot with a small parade of worried parents with their most precious cargo in tow. We were supposed to meet in the cafeteria to get final instructions, to meet our child’s teacher and to say goodbye for the first time.
Our son got his name tag and got in line. As our eyes were brimming with tears from a mixture of pride, fear and sadness, our boy broke from the line and came over and hugged us. We hugged him, hoping never to let go, and prayed a short prayer of blessing that has become a benediction for our family as we send our kids into the world to do beautiful, scary, wonderful things.
With what felt like dozens of eyes on our family of three, we prayed the same simple prayer we always did:
Lord, be with our son. Keep him. Watch over him. Help him to trust You always and know that he is loved.
Over the years, drop-off became for us a sacred space, a daily commissioning of our kids into what God has for them. It reminded me I am letting go and I’m not in control, and that I am also sending them with the confidence that Christ goes with them and before them.
For us, drop-off prayer became a habit that recentered our focus on what matters most, more than good grades and good games. Christ goes with us and before us, and He leads us to what He has next.
Dropping off your kids with prayer reminds us:
- God is with your kids. Come what may, He is with them.
- You are not God. You cannot protect your kids from every harm and sorrow.
- God often uses our sorrows to make us more like Christ.
- We are sent to proclaim who Christ is with our lives and our loves to a world in desperate need of hope.
- The most important thing you can do for your kids is pray for them and teach them to pray, to give them a vocabulary of faith.
- Even when it seems your kids are alone, they are never alone. God is with them.
A Prayer for School Drop-Off
Father, I am reminded that You gave up Your only Son so our children may be saved.
Today, as our children walk the halls, let them sense Your love and share it with others.
Let the light of Christ illuminate the sadness and sorrow that You know more than all.
May everyone who encounters them today sense the difference Your Spirit makes.
Christ, be before them, underneath them, behind them and around them.May the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Amen.
