My Heavenly Father,

I lift up my precious baby boy to you. As much as I love him, I know that you love Ezra with a love far greater than I could ever comprehend. He is your child. I ask that you pour out your blessings upon him as he begins another school year.

Lord, I lift up Ezra’s teacher to you. I ask that you would grace her with patience, understanding, and compassion in extra measure. I pray that when the hard days come, because they will, that you would refresh her spirit and rekindle the passion she must have to work with such a special group of children. I ask that you would give her the energy and courage necessary to not allow my child to settle but to push him and to help him grow and learn. Father, more than anything else, I pray that his teacher would fall in love with him just as we have. May there be opportunities for them to share a smile and a snuggle. I pray she would look upon my child with unconditional love. I ask that you would purpose it in her heart to be one of Ezra’s greatest advocates. And Lord, I thank you for her. I thank you for her love of special children like mine.

I lift up Ezra’s bus drivers, teacher’s aides, therapists, and principals to you, Lord. Again, I pray that they would fall in love with his contagious smile and sweet heart. I pray that he would not be looked at as an unfortunate statistic but as an amazing individual with incredible potential. I ask that as a whole, this group of staff would not assume that “He can’t”, but rather “He might if we try. If we push him. If we believe in him.” Please put a burden on their heart to connect with Ezra and to see what an awesome little man he is. Let their hands be your hands, their hearts be your heart, their words be your words, and let your mercy flow through all those who will come in contact with Ezra this year.

And finally, I lift up my sweet Ezra to you. I pray that his classroom would be a place of comfort, security, excitement, and learning. I ask that you would calm his spirit and give him the self-control to be able to grow and learn. May the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, patience, gentles, faithfulness, goodness, kindness, and self-control dwell within him (Galatians 5:20-25). May he be blessed with the strength to overcome challenges. It is my desire, Lord, that he would feel accepted and loved for exactly who he is and that he would be offered every opportunity to achieve. I pray that he would be able to make a friend this year- a true connection to a fellow classmate. May his frustrations in not being able to communicate melt away this year as he develops the skills necessary to express himself. And most importantly, I ask you Lord for your provision and protection of him. I pray that he will be able to control his impulses to flee and I pray for a watchful eye from all of the school faculty. Father, use Ezra’s struggle to build perseverance, develop character, and also to bring hope to all whose path he crosses.

I am placing my hope and my trust in You, Lord, for a year of great milestones. For I know that nothing is too hard or impossible for you! As hard as it is to “let go” and watch my little baby go off to school, I thank you Father, that he is not alone. I thank you that you go with him each and every day. I entrust him to your care.

Amen

Love In A Different Language