Dear Father,
We are your adopted children, grafted into your family. If not for the death and resurrection of Jesus, we wouldn’t know the gift of being called Your child. For those in our midst who have adopted or are fostering children who’ve experienced trauma, we bring them before You. We recognize that holiday celebrations usually mean a change in routine that can upset, or at least unregulate these kids. As Easter nears, we humbly ask for Your tender care in the lives of each child and family:
May the resurrection be a tender reminder that You bring life from death and beauty from ashes. Comfort them with the hope that the empty tomb represents. (Matthew 28:6)
For the social gatherings that accompany Easter celebrations—frenzied egg hunts and houses brimming with friends and family—we ask that those surrounding the family would be accommodating of parents’ special requests to help their children to succeed in the excitement and chaos. Help us all to hold space for the child, the family, and their struggles, to know the open arms of God through our embrace. (Romans 15:7)
We trust Your unchanging nature (Hebrews 13:8) and beg You to bring a sense of peace and constancy to the child for whom changes in routine—at home and at church—cause anxiety. (1 John 4:18)
For the parents, who may not get time with their other loved ones in order to support their child, we ask for You to restore them in other ways, filling their hearts with Your Spirit and reinvigorating them for their noble task. (Psalm 63:1)
For those who feel alone and misunderstood in their parenting challenges, we depend on You to be near to the brokenhearted. (Psalm 34:18) Give them the fellowship of Your Spirit. Comfort them with the knowledge that You understand their grief and pain.
For the friends and relatives who will surround these families in celebration, we ask You to supply compassion and respect for their loved ones who may parent in ways that are different in order to meet the needs of their adoptive or foster child. Give their relatives the posture of Aaron and Hur, who raised Moses’s arms when he was too tired to hold them up any longer. (Exodus 17:12)
For those children who have experienced food insecurity, we pray they would trust that there will always be enough for them, not be overcome by the amount of sweets and special meals, and that they will not be tempted to hoard food or eat to the point of illness. (Luke 11:3)
We ask you to guard against bitterness and resentment in the hearts of siblings whose celebrations may be cut short, altered, or eliminated altogether to deal with behavioral challenges stemming from the effects of trauma. (Ephesians 4:31)
We pray for holy moments in which adopted and foster children and their families might be able to pause in worship of You. (Psalm 46:10)
May our church services truly be a place of sanctuary for all families this Easter, as we gather to honor You, Lord.
Amen.
Kirsten Holmberg is a writer, speaker, and public speaking coach based in the Pacific Northwest. As an adoptive parent since 2004, her understanding of God’s adoption of her into His own family has grown and expanded. She is the author of Advent with the Word: Approaching Christmas Through the Inspired Language of God and He is… therefore i am. Kirsten speaks regularly at church and community events, encouraging others to step closer to Jesus and better know His love for them through His Word. Find her online at www.kirstenholmberg.com.
