My prayer

I'm currently staying with my three grandchildren in Toledo. I have spent a lot of time with these three kids in the past 2 years. Their mother's wedding a couple of days ago was beautiful. I had a hard time not crying. I tend to cry at lots of things- parades, weddings, award ceremonies, etc. I was surprised at the tears that sprang to my eyes when I first spotted the three kids arriving at the site of the wedding (held outdoors at lovely home of a friend of Victoria's). They were all beautifully dressed and I was just hit hard by how much I love them. Russ and I had been talking about our mixed feelings about this whole change in their life. We are thrilled that Victoria will have a partner and that the kids will have a father influence as they grow up. We know that nobody would ever "cut us out" of their life but we also know that circumstances will just cause a widening gap. I am moving to Phoenix to care for my parents with Russ to follow as soon as our house sells (if ever!). Victoria and the kids have moved to Toledo but it will only be temporary until Kevin finishes his research study and gets a job somewhere. They will now have 3 sets of grandparents, 3 families, to try to stay in contact with. Russ and I will no longer be quite as essential to their life. As I have pondered how much I love my children and grandchildren and wondered where we will be spending the remaining decades of our life, I have reached out to my Heavenly Father in prayer:
I am so grateful for goodly parents who taught me well and were good examples to me that I could grow up to be a person who can look in the mirror and say, "I'm honestly doing the best I can to be a good person to know." I am grateful for 4 (and one informally adopted) wonderful children who are helpful, kind, pleasant, honest, hardworking people as are my sisters and brother. I am grateful that I have been blessed with talents and abilities as well as the good health to use them and the opportunity of living in a free country that allows me the liberty to use them that I can serve others and grow and improve. From here, I ask for wisdom to know how best to use my time, talents, and resources in the future. I pray that I can be forgiving (of others as well as myself) and not hold on to the pain caused by others' criticism of me. I pray that I can find the joys in life that are sprinkled in among the sorrows and trials. I pray that I can have the strength and determination to keep going when the balance seems weighted toward sorrows and trials. I pray that I can provide for others the shoulder to cry on, the helping hand up, the encouragement that have been given to me. I pray that I can be helpful to those who are trying to improve or achieve without seeming critical or pushy. I pray that I can have the strength and wisdom to stand by when others need to exercise their agency to make choices even if they aren't the best. Then I pray I can deal with the pain of watching them hurt from their choices just as my parents (earthly and heavenly) have had to watch me. I have the love part- I love others so much it seems to melt me inside. It's the strength to witness their pain that I sometimes lack. In short, I pray that I can become perfect in love just as my Father in heaven is.