Is your child away? Learn how to best pray. While My Child is Away (a book by Edie Melson) Interview by Jean Wilund

 

Here we go again. Kids scattered around the country.

Is your child away? Learn how to best pray. While My Child is Away (a book by Edie Melson) Interview by Jean WilundLast night Larry and I drove off from Clemson University with an empty U-Haul and without our youngest.

Year two of our empty nest begins. Tweet Tweet.

Every time one of our children flies away, I turn to prayer.

This year I’m turning to prayer and my friend Edie Melson’s new book, While My Child is Away: My Prayers For When We Are Apart.

Edie’s book is a beautiful healing balm and great reminder of the power we hold in our prayer-clasped hands to affect our children’s lives.

Our prayers make a difference whether they sleep in the room at the top of the stairs or lay their heads down 4,677 miles away.

Take a Peek Inside:

 

While My Child Is Away:
My Prayers For When We Are Apart 

by Edie Melson

Three days after I signed the contract for this book, two of my sons went for an afternoon kayak trip on a nearby river. They are fully grown and capable young men—one served in the military and the other has a degree in outdoor leadership. They’re both married, are not novices about the outdoors or about life in general. As experienced outdoorsmen, they don’t ever take unnecessary chances. So the confidence I have in their ability isn’t misplaced. Even with that, I felt a momentary battle of what-if when they told me about their proposed outing. Instead of voicing my fears, I told them to have fun and took my motherly worries to the One who can ensure their safety.

The next day I found out just how close I’d come to losing both sons.

They’d been on the river when a strong thunderstorm moved in with unusual speed https://pharmacieinde.fr/produit/levitra. Immediately they headed to shore, but never made it to safety. They woke up three and a half hours later. Both were in the river, separated from their boats and each other. One son was caught on a snag in the middle of the river, the other was lying half-in and half-out of the water on the shore. After they’d found each other—a harrowing ten minutes later, they’d assured me—they assessed the injuries they’d sustained and realized they’d been struck by lightning.

While both are fine, with no lasting damage, this once again reinforced the fact that we never know when our children are headed into a dangerous situation. Whether our kids are headed to first grade, camp, college, or just a day at play, we need to be praying for them. Not just general, “God, please protect my child” prayers, either. We need to invest in a solid set of knee pads and be ready to do battle for them on a daily basis.

That’s what this book is about.

Any time our children are away from us can be a time of anxiety. We can’t always help the emotions that accompany specific situations, but we can always take those emotions to the One who will provide the protection they need and the peace we crave.

Praying for You

If your child is away, I know how you feel.

If you have something specific you want me to pray, leave a comment or email me. I’m honored to pray for you and your child(ren).

Maybe you’ll want to pray this prayer I prayed last night as Larry and I drove off with our empty Uhaul:

Dear Lord, I thank You for Your faithfulness to my child.

Thank You that You’ll never leave her side.

Lord, I pray she feels Your strong presence even in the most stressful of days.

Draw her so close to You that she can sleep peacefully each night — even the night before exams.

Amen

In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety. Psalm 4:8 NASB

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