A prayer for our children's hearts by Maggie Meadows Cooper, read by Leah Martin.

Turn my heart toward your statutes and not towards selfish gain.

Turn my eyes away from worthless things.

Serve my life according to your word.

Psalm 119-36-37.

I write this to you as a Mama who is in the trenches of raising three kids in three different stages of life.

And by trenches I don't mean literal dirt tunnels in the ground,

But I do mean that place of being low at times, weary on the edge, preparing to fight the enemy, and defend those I love.

Trenches are mainly used in times of war, and while there are no earthly battles raging in my home,

there's no question in my mind that we're in a spiritual battle for our children.

The sights, sounds, and voices that they're bombarded with every day lead them to questions so much.

To wonder how what we as godly parents are teaching them fits in with the rest of the world.

And y'all, there are days my tears flow, and I allow fear and worry and feelings of failure to wash over me.

As I recall conversations and questions my children asked, and I wonder if I missed valuable opportunities to point to him.

As I recall times, I did point to him, but wonder if I did him justice.

It's hard. It's just hard.

But there's one thing I know. In those times, I so often hear the Lord say,

give them to me, Maggie. Give them to me.

And I try. I lay them down for a while.

The next thing you know, I've picked them back up again, and I can feel it.

I can feel the weight and the pressure I put on myself to carry them to try and keep them turned toward him.

It happens most often as the what ifs enter my mind.

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