Like a Little Child

I've been reading a popular book about learning to give thanks. If fact, I finally finished it last night. I cried my way through most of it. I think because it seemed to lay open my mommy heart more than anything else. The main idea of the book did sink in some too. The idea that thankfulness opens me up to trust God and to let Him be God has been powerfully shown in my own experience. That being said, I don't often practice thankfulness in the middle of a school day filled with a six-year-old struggling to sound out words, a three-year-old not wanting to learn to use the toilet, a ten-year-old needing freedom to make his own choices even when those choices cause me extra work. I don't often practice thankfulness when the work of the day never fits in the day. I know that I should be thankful for the work that I have to do, for the family that I get to serve each day. Maybe that is why the prayers of my three-year-old have caught my attention. He just did turn three, but he has been praying this way almost from the beginning. His prayers often sound something like this,"Thank you for Daddy to be home safe. (When daddy is still days from getting home.) Thank you for Grandpa's knee to get better. (When Grandpa is still in physical therapy.) Thank you for my sister's head to get better. (When the stitches just got put in.)" His prayers ARE hope. There is probably truth to the idea that he doesn't really understand the difference in saying thank you and in asking for his needs, but no one else prays that way. He copies so many other things. Even if he doesn't know that his prayers are out of order, I wonder if they really are. Maybe he has it right? Maybe my prayers should look more like his. "Thank you, God, for the patience to listen to struggling reading, the kindness to help a little one learn to wear underwear, the joy to, without grudging, serve the ones that you have blessed to fill my life." Maybe, I should have faith like my son who knows only that he is loved and that his needs are met. Maybe, I need to rest in the unfailing love of the One who orchestrates each day for my good and His glory.