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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me remember to stop and ask for help from you when my week is too complicated! Amen.

"I'm coming to you," Jesus told God the Father before He was crucified. "I'm not going to be in the world any more, but my followers are. Keep them safe! While I was here, I kept them safe and gave them your message; now, I'm sending them into the world."

Life is complicated, even for kids. Sometimes, you have weeks when three teachers give quizzes, your new fish dies and you miss the movie you were going to see. If one more thing happens, you think you're going to scream!

In this week's Gospel (John 17:11-19), Jesus admits that the world is complicated. He knows that, soon, He'll be back in heaven and have no worries - but He'll be leaving His friends and followers behind. Their lives are hard enough when He's here to teach and encourage them; without Him, they'll have more worries.

When your life is complicated, how do you handle it? Some kids just power through the day - complaining, maybe, but doing their best to get through it. Some kids struggle, getting really angry or really sad. Either way, help is good - help from friends and adults you can talk to, and help from God.

Jesus, before He went back to heaven, prayed to God the Father to be with His friends and take special care of them when they struggled. If even the Son of God prayed about problems (and reminded His followers to do the same thing), that's something we need to do, too.

When it rains every day for a week, your friend blabs a secret you shared and you lose your iPod, don't lose your cool as well; pray about it. Even if you're not sure how that will help, just taking a few minutes to ask God to take care of you can calm you down and remind you that there's always someone who cares. Things will get better - and God will always be there in this complicated life![[In-content Ad]]

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