The Prayer Of A Child

My girls are always inspiring me to be more and better. Lately I've been loving listening to them (and Emma and Connor) pray. And, oh, how I'm striving to pray like a child. 

To be excited enough to exclaim "I want to!" evey time praying is mentioned.

To always pray for the things I'm thankful for such as "my daddy got off work" and "everyone feels better now" and sometimes even "Thankyou for my Nana, Papa, Mommy, Daddy, Grandma Betty, Grandpa Pail, Grandma Pat etc....". 

To always be bettering my prayers by paying attention to those around me who pray and the Godly things that are talked about and incorporate them into my prayers as I grow.

And, to always pray, even when I don't know  exactly what to say. Because goodness knows the simple statement of "help my friends and help our days" is as powerful an utterance as anything I can think to say. 

Transition Woes

Sometimes ... Okay, all toooo often, I feel like we're living life in constant "hurry up" mode. Hurry up and finish eating. Hurry up and get dressed. Pick up your toys, quickly please! And, for goodness sake, just get in the car!

What I'm learning, finally (guess I'm a slow learner), is that rushing rarely gets us anywhere quicker. Turns out my little people don't "hurry up" very well. Hurry up = dropping things and then having to stop and pick them up. Hurry up = frustration because "I can't do it" and "it won't buckle" and "I wanted to do it myself!". Hurry up = tears and grumpy starts instead of peace. 

And that falls on me. 

Sometimes ... Okay, all toooo often, I forget the power my Momma self has in setting the mood of our house. 

I am good at slowing down and enjoying the moment ... Except in transition times. I like a smooth, easy, time efficient transition. But, as it turns out, transitions are HARD and a graceful one is a skill that has to be nurtured. Nurtured ... Not rushed. 

For my little people it means a call for "everybody choose your last thing on the playground" a few minutes before "go time" gets us to the car a lot faster than a yelled "I said it's time to go, now!" And for my opnionates 😳 fashionistas it means sometimes offering two shirt choices so they can decide. A lot of times it means Momma takes a deep breath while they practice buckling themselves when my first impulse is just to do it for them - because a fit over lost independence slows us down and independent bucklers (eventually) speeds us up. 

Most of the time it requires a mind shift on my part. A shift of starting a few minutes earlier than I thought "a few minutes early" meant. A shift from "I can't be late" to "Let's do this so that we can be on time and happy". It means I have to take a step back from my rushed mindset and instead making up my mind to calmly move us toward the goal.

Oh, I'm not saying I give in always ... There are plenty of "we don't have time to do that now"s and multiple "This time mommy has to buckle you fast, next time you can do it by yourself." And goodness knows I'll probably always be telling them "we need to move a little quicker" every now and then. 

But at the end of the day, there is nowhere we go that is more important than how we get there, and I'd always rather show up on the dot and with a happy peaceful family than early with a grumpy frazzled one. 

Thankful For A Known Heart

 Last night Raina was up from 11:30 pm - 4 am. 

Here is a list of things she wanted:

     - yogurt

     - juice, but not in that cup

     - chocolate milk

     -  bandaid

     -  a different bandaid

     - for me to stand up to hold her

     -  a song, but definitely not that song

     - to go outside

     - NOT to take medicine

     - NOT to have anti-itch cream put on her feet t         that were itching

     - pretty much anything else slightly irrational

She was uncomfortable. Incredibly. Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease will do that to you (poor girl) and she simply didn't have the words to tell me the things that were bothering her. So, she strove to find comfort the way she knew how ... by crying and screaming asking for anything she thought of that might make her feel better.

She was difficult because she didn't even know what she wanted or needed. We were trying to figure that out together.

It was frustrating to not know what she truly needed and I felt helpless (and also really, really, sleepy) as I tried to provide her with some comfort and rest.

As I started to get frustrated with all of her demands that weren't actually what she needed (the outside cat did NOT need to come eat yogurt with her. For real.), it made me think of how many times I have been upset about something that wasn't actually what I was upset about - like just yesterday morning when I'd been short with Rob for no good reason because I was frustrated about something else. AND all the times I have wanted someone to fix something, or help me with something, but had no idea what I even needed to ask for. Thank goodness God doesn't get frustrated and short tempered with me.

How thankful am I for a God who knows my heart, and what I need, even when I don't (Mt. 6:8 - "...for your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.") and for the ability to go to Him in prayer at any time - even at times when all I can pray for is peace and strength because I can't specifically identify the "rest" of what I need. 

Raina did eventually doze (somewhat restlessly) from 4-7 after medicine (and exhaustion) won out, and she seems much better and more settled this morning and is back to happily torturing her cat I let her bring inside for a little while.

So, this morning I am extra thankful for answer prayers and a patient God who understands my heart.