08/09/2026
Sharing a special prayer for all our families heading back to school this fall...
🙏 **A Back-to-School Prayer for Our Able Community** 💛
Dear Lord,
It’s back-to-school time again.
The backpacks are packed.
The schedules are changing.
The alarms are set.
And somewhere, a parent is already wondering where they put the paperwork they *specifically put somewhere safe so they wouldn’t lose it.*
So, Lord, we come to You on behalf of some pretty incredible kids—and the village of people walking into another school year beside them.
Bless our **special education teachers**.
Give them wisdom to see beyond a diagnosis, patience for the hard days, creativity when Plan A through Plan Q do not work, and the ability to somehow remember the accommodations, goals, sensory needs, communication preferences, schedules, passwords, meeting dates, and approximately 4,782 other things they are responsible for.
And Lord, when someone says, “Have you tried a sticker chart?”
Give them grace.
Extra grace. 😅
Bless our **paraprofessionals**.
The ones who sit beside our children, walk the hallways with them, help them regulate, redirect, communicate, eat lunch, navigate transitions, complete assignments, learn independence, and sometimes simply make it through a moment that felt impossible five minutes earlier.
May they know that the smallest victories they witness are not small at all.
Bless the paras who will celebrate a zipped backpack, an independently opened milk carton, a successful bathroom trip, a spoken word, an AAC request, a completed worksheet, or a child simply making it through an assembly.
Lord, give them comfortable shoes.
Seriously.
**Comfortable shoes.**
Bless our **speech therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, behavioral specialists, counselors, nurses, adaptive PE teachers, transportation staff, cafeteria workers, administrators, and every other person who becomes part of our children's team.**
Give them knowledge—but also give them curiosity.
Help them ask,
“What is this child trying to communicate?”
before asking,
“How do we stop this behavior?”
Help them recognize that communication does not always come through spoken words, learning does not always look like sitting quietly at a desk, and progress does not always fit neatly on a graph.
Bless our **bus drivers and transportation staff** who somehow manage routes, wheelchairs, harnesses, backpacks, sensory needs, schedules, and morning emotions before some of us have even finished our coffee.
May every bus arrive safely.
And Lord, please let somebody notice if the AAC device gets left on the bus.
Bless our **parents and caregivers**.
The ones filling out the same medical history for what feels like the 947th time.
The ones sending emails that begin with,
“Just a heads-up…”
The ones packing sensory items, medications, communication devices, backup clothes, safe foods, headphones, chewies, fidgets, and the one very specific snack that absolutely cannot be substituted with another brand because *You know, Lord.*
You know.
Give parents courage to advocate without feeling like they have to apologize for advocating.
Give them wisdom to know when to push, when to wait, when to ask another question, and when to trust the team.
And when the school calls unexpectedly during the day…
Lord, calm their hearts before they even answer the phone. ❤️
Bless the **IEP teams**.
May the meetings be collaborative.
May everyone actually read the IEP.
May accommodations be implemented.
May goals be meaningful.
May data tell the whole story.
May parents feel heard.
May educators feel supported.
And may every meeting that could have been an email…
Well, Lord, we will leave that one with You. 😂
Most of all, bless **our children**.
The child excitedly waiting at the door.
The child who doesn't understand why the summer routine suddenly changed.
The child who loves school.
The child who is terrified of school.
The child who communicates with words, signs, pictures, gestures, devices, movements, sounds, or simply by leading someone's hand.
The child who will master grade-level work.
The child working on life skills.
The child whose greatest accomplishment this year may never appear on a report card.
Help each one be **seen**.
Not as a diagnosis.
Not as a behavior.
Not as a test score.
Not as a caseload number.
Not as “the kid in the special education room.”
But as a whole person—
Created intentionally.
Capable of growth.
Worthy of dignity.
Deserving of friendship.
And deeply loved.
Lord, remind all of us this year that progress may look different for every child.
Sometimes progress is reading another chapter.
Sometimes it's solving an equation.
Sometimes it's tolerating a fire drill.
Sometimes it's asking for a break instead of melting down.
Sometimes it's trying a new food.
Sometimes it's walking into the building.
Sometimes it's simply coming back tomorrow and trying again.
Help us celebrate **all of it**.
Protect our children.
Strengthen their families.
Equip their teachers.
Encourage their paras.
Guide their therapists.
Give administrators wisdom.
Give support staff patience.
Give everyone compassion.
And please, Lord…
Let the Wi-Fi work.
Let the laminator survive.
Let the printer recognize that it DOES, in fact, have paper.
Let the Velcro stick.
Let the communication devices stay charged.
Let nobody lose the favorite fidget.
And if somebody changes the packaging on a preferred food during the first week of school…
We ask for a special measure of grace for everyone involved. 😭😂
May this school year be filled with learning, belonging, friendship, growth, dignity, laughter, and moments that remind us why this work matters so deeply.
And on the really hard days, remind every parent, teacher, para, therapist, and support professional:
**Different does not mean less.
Small progress is still progress.
Communication is more than speech.
Behavior is communication.
And every child deserves someone who believes there is more inside of them waiting to be discovered.**
Bless our special needs families and every person who will walk beside them this school year.
Give us patience for the process, grace for one another, and enough coffee for whatever Monday morning has planned.
In Jesus' name,
**Amen.** 🙏💛
*Now please label the water bottles, charge the AAC devices, find the missing headphones, and check the backpack one more time.*
**Here we go. 🚌📚💛**
