Lord, Please Bridge the Gap

"The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” Isaiah 58:11

Oregon Coast...2005

I love to read. Though it is not my prayer focus today in my blog, I do pray that my kids fall in love with reading someday. My husband doesn’t quite have the same thrill as I do walking into “Barnes and Noble” or the Christian bookstore either. I pray for him too. Ha!

Christian fiction is often my “flavor” of choice, and mostly I just read for enjoyment. However, sometimes God surprises me with an important lesson within the story. One book in particular has stuck with me and I think about it often. A friend and I even talked about it over coffee today. The book is called “Tristan’s Gap” by Nancy Rue, and I’d highly recommend it for any mother.

I won’t go into the storyline of this book. You’ll have to just have to go and read it yourself. Who knows, maybe God will speak to you too. The theme that had such an impact on me is based on one of the best pieces of advise that the author was given when her children were young: “Pray that God will bridge the gap between what your child needs and what you can give her.”

There are many areas, known and unknown to me, in which I need God to fill in the gaps of my parenting capabilities. No matter how hard I try, I will never be able to provide for all of my children’s needs. I cannot protect them from every hurt. I won’t be able to fulfill every desire. I will never be able to be with them in every crisis. I will be unable to meet every need that they have physically, emotionally, and for sure spiritually. So, I am on me knees, dependent and hopeful that God will take care of all the things that I cannot.

I need God to help me be the best parent I can be, but I also need Him to “bridge the gap” between what my children need and what I can actually give them! What a hope to hold on to!

Lord, thank you for my children, and for the gift they are in my life. But, Lord, sometimes parenting is hard, and I need you to guide me, strengthen me, and help me in those times where I seem to fail. My kids have so many needs, and some I can fill and some I cannot. I’m so glad that I don’t have to parent alone. You are with me. Please, Lord, bridge the gaps between what my kids need, and what I can actually give them. Where I am not enough, take over and fill in the blanks. Lord, I stand in faith, believing in your promise to satisfy our needs, and strengthen our frames. Oh, how I pray you do that for me as a parent to my children, and for my children in their lives. Lord, guide us always.

Originally posted:  October 21, 2009