A Grandparent’s Prayer for a Grandson After Surgery

For grandparents whose grandson has come through surgery, here is a prayer of gratitude, comfort, and hope.

Rofei HaCholim (Healer of the Sick),

The surgery is over.

Our precious grandson has come through.

And oh, how grateful we are.

Still, our hearts tremble.

For there is something about seeing a child suffer

That shakes our very souls.

As grandparents, we would give anything

To have spared him this pain.

Anything.

If love alone could heal him,

He would already be running, laughing, leaping into our arms.

Shomer Yisrael (Guardian of Israel),

Watch over our beautiful boy.

This child whose smile melts us,

Whose laughter lifts us,

Whose little life has wrapped itself

Around the deepest chambers of our hearts.

Where his body is bruised, bring healing.

Where he hurts, help us comfort him.

Where he is frightened, may he find peace.

And when he closes his eyes tonight

And each night thereafter,

Let his sleep be soft,

His breathing be easy,

And his dreams be sweeter than these difficult days.

Avinu Shebashamayim (Our Heavenly Parent),

Bless his parents, too.

For we know what it means to love a child so fiercely

That their pain becomes your pain,

Their tears become your tears,

Their every breath becomes your prayer.

We see the worry behind his parents’ weary smiles,

The fear they try so hard to hide.

Hold them close

As they hold him.

Grant them strength when theirs is spent,

And the blessed relief of knowing

Their little boy is healing.

And God, hear us grandparents,

Who have lived long enough to know

How fragile life can be,

Yet who never imagined that one so young,

So precious, so full of promise,

Would have to endure so much.

Let our love lift him

When our arms cannot.

Let our prayers protect him

When our hands cannot.

And let him somehow feel,

Even in his sleep,

How very, very loved he is.

Eloheinu v’Elohei Avoteinu v’Imoteinu

(Our God and God of our ancestors),

Bring back the boy we know so well,

His mischief and his magic,

His silly smiles and sweet surprises,

His running feet and radiant face.

Let us hear him laugh so loudly

That we forget these frightening days.

Yet when we hold him close

And kiss his precious head,

May we remember to whisper the words

We have been holding in our hearts:

Thank You, God.

Thank You for this child.

Thank You for another day to love him.

And please, dear God,

Let there be countless more.

Amen.