Oh Lord. I need your help today.

I want to care for those you've sent into my life,

to help them develop the special

gifts you've given them.

But I also want to free them

to follow their own paths

and to bring their loving

wisdom to the world.

Help me to embrace them

without clutching, to support them

without suffocating, to correct them

without crushing. And help me to live

joyfully and playfully, myself,

so they can see your life in

me and find their way to you.

Amen.