I have spent the past decade writing columns that used in popular culture as jumping off points for theological discussion. My hope was always that those with religious differences could find common ground by talking about fictional topics like the latest blockbuster hit or television show, topics that are just enough removed from this world that they don’t feel so personal.

But as I considered this one, nothing in the fictional world seemed important enough to write about. It feels impossible, at this time, to step away from this heartbreaking real world and from the damage that it is doing not just to the adults that live in it but to the children who are growing up in it.

I’m one of many Americans who felt that the world grew a shade darker last week — and by our nation's leaders in the halls of Congress, followed by social media outrage, no less — that we put on full display the worst of what humans can be. As a mother, I clung ever closer to my children, wondering what kind of world they would inherit as adults. Would it be full of vitriol? Absent of respect and basic civility? Or would we find a way to right ourselves? It seems as if parents like me must fight the cultural tides that wash into our family’s lives in order to teach our children a different set of values, those things that are holy and good.

Of course, no parent can do this alone. This is what communities of faith are for, what neighbors are for, what family and friends provide. It is not, however, the purpose of the average column — editorials usually analyze, dissect or provide an illuminating new point of view on a contentious issue. They don’t pray. In this one, however, I hope you will bear with me as I break with the genre.

Because I think, at this time, we are desperately in need of prayer.

So, instead of a traditional column, I offer instead these prayers, for the daughters and sons who are growing up in this world we’re creating for them.

Daughter,

I pray that you never forget that you are made in the image of God.

I pray the world remembers too.

I pray that you remember you are more than the makeup on your face or the clothes on your body. Your value is not equal to the number on a scale.

I pray that you are always respected because you are a person, and I pray that you can name it when you are not.

I pray that you do not have to be afraid of someone accosting you at a party or taking you from your bedroom, and that you never have to fear that someone you love will harm you, or worry about another person treating your body as an object.

I pray that you feel free in the world.

I pray that you grow in both confidence and humility.

I pray that you learn what it means to love your neighbor as yourself.

I pray that you make good choices.

And when all else fails, I pray that you talk to God — or at least your parents — for some good advice.

Son,

I pray that you too never forget that you are made in the image of God.

I pray that the world reminds you that there are ways of being a good man that have nothing to do with how far you throw a football, how many beers you can drink, or how big your muscles are. You are not the sum of your brute force.

I pray that you remember that women say important things and you should listen with both ears.

I pray that you speak truth to your guy friends when they forget right from wrong.

And if they don’t listen to you, I pray that you find new friends.

I pray that your parents don’t imagine you to be better or worse than you are.

I pray that you grow in both strength and sensitivity.

I pray that you learn to love your neighbor as yourself.

I pray that you make good choices.

And when all else fails, I pray the same thing that I pray for the girls of this world: that you talk to God — or at least your parents — for some good advice.