Help Me, God, I'm a Parent: Honest Prayers for Hectic Days and Endless Nights
by Bunmi Laditan
Coming June 28, 2022
Dear friend,
I wrote this book because parenting is hard. For me, it would be impossible without God being my rock every single day.
A few years ago I was at a play center with my youngest who is eight now but at the time was an always jumping, always running, never stopping, four year-old. I remember that day like it was yesterday.
In my mind I was juggling how we'd spend a couple hours at the play center, then find somewhere to have lunch, then I'd drive the half hour to school to pick up his older sisters, maybe stop at the grocery store if I could manage it with all three to have something for dinner other than Domino's again...
I was doing all this as my youngest bounced foam bricks off of my head trying to get my attention.
As I was in the midst of my mental circus when a mom walked in. She sat near me in the little kids' section and we got to talking. She was new to the city and was only here temporarily for her husband's job. She homeschooled her four (or five?) kids.
My mouth dropped open. I could barely handle my three and two were in school for most of the day.
"How do you do it?" I asked her, hoping she wouldn't recommend another $50 organizer I'd use for a week and then abandon.
Her answer was simple, but somehow worse.
"Jesus."
At the time I was between faiths. I'd been jumping from one belief to the next, trying to find myself, trying to find God and the thought of a Middle Eastern hippie from 2,000 years ago somehow helping make it in and out of the grocery store with three kids at 5pm seemed ludicrous.
I chalked it up to her being one of "those people" and I don't think we spoke much after that.
Little did I know, a seed was planted.
Now years later, after my own encounter with Jesus, who is my Friend, Lover of my soul, Redeemer, son of God and Divine Himself (I'm a bit passionate...it's because of what He's done for me), I understand what that mom was trying to tell me.
It's prayer that holds me up every day.
It's talking to and having a relationship with a living God and knowing I'm not only heard, but helped, that gives me the strength to get through very long day and sometimes very stressful nights.
Parenting is a mixed bag of crazy, fun, touching, amazing, distressing, wild, messy, and incredible.
Through the highs and the lows, I never walk alone.
Just as my children count on me to be there so they can live and grow securely, I can abide in the secret place of the Most High every single day as I pray when I wake up, while doing dishes, in traffic running late, on my knees in my bedroom pouring my heart out.
I wrote this book in the early morning hours before my kids awoke, standing up in the kitchen, my laptop perched next to the microwave wherein leftovers made their slow rotation, in the late night hours as I tried not to fret over if I'd been kind enough, gentle enough, patient enough...
This book isn't a how-to. It's an expression of my own pleas, praises, and intimacy with God as I mother my children.
The prayers are all prayers I've prayed.
I hope the prayer poems inspire you to begin to open up lines of communications with a very real God who loves you and knows you by name.
I've also included some of the verses that help me make it from rising to sleeping as I've found that when I carry His words in my heart, I'm less tossed to and fro by the waves of life (and in my own sea of thoughts).
We were never meant to parent them alone. We have heaven's help.
And to that mom who spoke truth to me in the play center that day, risking looking foolish in front of a stranger...thank you.
love, Bunmi

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