Praying for Patience: Parenting Alongside ADHD

I sat in the car the other day after drop-off, hands gripping the steering wheel, heart racing. My son had already had a rough morning—forgotten reading log, misplaced homework, tears over a small change in routine—and I felt like I was failing him. Failing at patience. Failing at motherhood. This is after the night before where homework struggles almost felt insurmountable. He yelled, I yelled. And so there I was before having to rush to the office and I whispered a prayer, the kind you pray when you’ve run out of clever solutions:

“Lord, help me. Help me see him the way You do.”

And right there, something shifted in my heart. I realized I’d been asking God to “fix” my child, to make mornings easier, to make school smoother. But what if my prayer needed to change? What if, instead of asking God to change him, I started asking God to change me?

Understanding the Child God Gave Me

Parenting a child with ADHD can feel like living in two worlds at once:

• One where teachers, coaches and even peers want focus and order.

• And another where your child sees ideas no one else sees, thinks in ways no one else thinks, and feels everything so deeply.

For a long time, I tried to fit him into the world’s mold. Sit still. Be quiet. Do it “right.” But the more I pray, the more I sense God whispering:

“I made him on purpose. I made him exactly as he is.”

And that truth—that my son’s energy, curiosity, and boundless heart aren’t flaws but features of God’s design—is beginning to change everything.

When Back to School Feels Heavy

Back-to-school isn’t just new beginnings for kids. It’s also ones for us. And I don’t know about you, but I often stress about:

• Endless forms, forgotten assignments, and packed schedules.

• Calls from teachers about “focus challenges.”

• The constant, quiet comparison to other kids who seem to “have it all together.”

  
  

And maybe, like me, you’ve sat in the school parking lot and cried because it feels like too much—too much for him, too much for you.

But here’s the truth I’m learning: God isn’t asking us to carry this weight alone. He’s asking us to come to Him, over and over, surrendering the parts we don’t understand and trusting Him with the rest.

A Prayer for This Season

If you’re walking through this too, here’s the prayer that’s been carrying me lately.

“Lord, give me patience when my strength is gone. Give me eyes to see the beautiful boy You created, not the frustrations of the moment. Help me guide him with gentleness. And when the days feel heavy, remind me that You love him even more than I do.”

It’s not a magic fix. The meltdowns don’t disappear, the missing homework still happens, and mornings can still be messy. But this prayer softens my heart. It reminds me that God isn’t just shaping my son—He’s shaping me too.

You Are Not Alone

Mama, if you’re carrying the weight of back-to-school stress, ADHD or really any struggles, and the pressure to “get it all right,” take a deep breath. You are not failing. You are learning. You are growing.

God chose you to be the mother of this child on purpose. And on the hard days, that’s the truth I cling to: we were perfectly matched by a God who makes no mistakes.

So today, let’s release the guilt, breathe in His grace, and remember—our children are not broken. And neither are we.