Reflection: Gratitude Almost Brought Me to Tears

Written by PCA’s Director of Development, Elaina Russo

I felt a familiar tightening in my throat as emotion flitted through my mind. Tears threatened to well up as a feeling of profound gratitude enveloped me.

There I sat in a group of women—moms—who were praying for each other’s children by name. They prayed for children they knew and they prayed for the children of families they wouldn’t know if they bumped into them on the street. They prayed for my child. 

They prayed for healing from sickness and injury. They prayed for edifying friendships. They prayed against depression. They prayed for clarity and wisdom in decision-making. They prayed for healthy relationships. They prayed for spiritual and physical protection. They prayed that leaders would be raised from among our children who would impact His world for good.

These are some of the prayers of the mothers and grandmothers of PCA’s Moms in Prayer group. They would never call themselves “prayer warriors,” but if you were to sit in a room and hear the praises and appeals lifted before the Throne, you would join me in calling these women warriors.

They stand in the gap for our students first and foremost. And they expand their prayer commitment and extend their time together to also pray for PCA’s teachers, staff, and leaders, both their professional lives and their personal lives. They pray for PCA alumni, athletic teams, and clubs. They pray for school events, fundraising, curriculum, and culture.

They pray for each other’s husbands and parents (our children’s grandparents), our communities, our churches, our finances, and each other’s spiritual walks and personal goals.

These are not professional ministers or employees of PCA. These are moms and grandmas who come together as they are able to pray their children and their grandchildren. Some are stay-at-home moms, others have additional full-time jobs outside the home, and some work from home.

All of this came together in a single moment of realization for me in the middle of praying. These women purposely carve out time from their lives to come together to pray for the needs and dreams and futures of our families, our school, and His Kingdom. It is both humbling and inspiring to know that this group of women exists and that they are adding into their own prayers the prayers of each of us on behalf of our kids and our school.

Thank you to all who have prayed as part of Moms in Prayer, whether you come out every week or you come out once a quarter. What a privilege to have you praying through storms and grief and hopes and plans. My heart is full of gratitude to you for making prayer a priority for each of us. And to those who pray in other times and spaces, thank you, for being a part of a community that keeps the Lord at the center of it all.

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