The journey begins...

My Prayer for All Children

by Dawn Davenport, author of The Complete Book of International Adoption

I pray that all children will be loved for who they are, for no reason other than that they are.
I pray that all children will be loved as first best, not second best;
that they will be loved with an intensity that can move mountains,
because life will present plenty of mountains that will need to be moved.

I pray that all children will have someone who will...
...seek them, and only them, out of the crowd on the stage;
...push them to reach for their goals and discover their unique gifts;
...hold them accountable for their actions with love and dignity;
...advocate for them through this maze called life;
...explain the unexplainable; and
...smile when they walk into the room, just because they did.

But mostly I pray that all children will have someone who knows them well enough and loves them deeply enough to see the divine spark that is unique in them.

I pray that this be the birthright of all children throughout the world. And since this birthright can only be fulfilled by parents, I pray that each child, regardless of the circumstances of their birth, finds their parent and each parent finds their child.

Thanks, God. Amen.