Confession: I have not been the most disciplined parent when it comes to bedtime prayers. Or a bedtime routine. Or routine. Eh, so I haven't been all that disciplined.
My sister- and brother-in-law's family has established the habit of having prayer time before bed. Each person gets an opportunity to pray. My sons and I have had the privilege of listening in and participating during visits and let me tell you: it is just the most beautiful thing ever. Kids are so honest and it's a wondrous peek into their little hearts. We instantly fell in love with that special time and have tried to replicate it in our own family, though honestly we're quite hit and miss.
But I LOVE to hear my children pray. And I know it's important for them to learn how and why to pray from a young age, so we seize the opportunity as often as we can.
Tonight was one of those nights where I was tired and ready to "clock out". But God has been faithfully working on my self-obsessed, entitled mess and opening my eyes and heart to those around me. Like my children. They crave quality time with me. Time when we're not in a hurry, when we don't have work to do. So I slowed down the bedtime rush and agreed to pray and sing with them before leaving them to the often long ritual of actually falling asleep.
Per the norm, I asked who wanted to pray first and, also per the norm, they both did. My oldest had prayed first last time, so now it was my 2-year-old's turn. This was his prayer (essentially a paraphrase but quoting him to the best of my ability):
"Dear Jesus,
Thank you for helping me get out of the corner. Thank you for me unloading the dishwasher and the washer and the dryer."
So short. So simple. A little odd. (That's a 2 year old, for you.) The first sentence he has prayed many times before and it always makes me chuckle (especially since he doesn't go to timeout THAT often and almost never on the days he prays this). But tonight, it just hit me in a whole new way. Now I know he's only 2 and he's no theologian, but all I could hear was, "Thank you, Jesus, for saving me. Thank you for giving me purpose." And I thought, "Amen."
