We have been working with Henry over the last few months on the content & behavior during his nightly prayers. Being what we refer to as "religious amatures", neither Meg nor I can claim tenure on the art of fine prayerspeak. Most folks who pray often have a setlist of phrases that they pull out of their prayer catalog which they can interchange like traincars, linked together to form the perfectly worded prayer. Ours are more, shall we say, Organic?
Ol' Hank, once he settles down a bit, does a pretty good job, besides, kid prayers are one of those things that shouldn't be critiqued too much. The man says whats on his mind, what more can you say? The only problem is that we're pretty sure he thinks Santa Claus and Jesus are interchangeble figures. His prayers are more like wish lists, which I guess aren't that different than our prayers. We just emphasize the "we thank thee's" and not so much the "we ask thee's". (It sounds more humble if you do it that way) Kids don't do humble very well. They go straight for the brass ring, every time.
In some ways its refreshing. Kids, if young enough, still tell you, and Jesus whats on their mind, wheras adults will "bury it deep down inside and never bring it up again"-Taledega Nights So when Henry kneels down to pray he gives thanks for his fork, asks if he can use the slide at the park after the snow melts, and that he can go to the Proper"D". (Our "Property" is simply a 10 acre parcel of mountain land we purchased a year or so ago with very little improvements.) I smile every time I hear it.
I know that there will come a time that if he was honest, he would pray for a chance to lip-lock some highschool hottie under the bleachers, or hit me in the head with a heavy blunt object and bury me in the backyard, but what will we hear? We'll hear the train of perfectly crafted prayerspeak sentences. Gone will be the honesty, lost will be the innocence, and the Proper"D", well, who knows what it will look like by then.
Until then, everyone please bow your heads and say a simple prayer for the Proper"D".
-Kevin
Ol' Hank, once he settles down a bit, does a pretty good job, besides, kid prayers are one of those things that shouldn't be critiqued too much. The man says whats on his mind, what more can you say? The only problem is that we're pretty sure he thinks Santa Claus and Jesus are interchangeble figures. His prayers are more like wish lists, which I guess aren't that different than our prayers. We just emphasize the "we thank thee's" and not so much the "we ask thee's". (It sounds more humble if you do it that way) Kids don't do humble very well. They go straight for the brass ring, every time.
In some ways its refreshing. Kids, if young enough, still tell you, and Jesus whats on their mind, wheras adults will "bury it deep down inside and never bring it up again"-Taledega Nights So when Henry kneels down to pray he gives thanks for his fork, asks if he can use the slide at the park after the snow melts, and that he can go to the Proper"D". (Our "Property" is simply a 10 acre parcel of mountain land we purchased a year or so ago with very little improvements.) I smile every time I hear it.
I know that there will come a time that if he was honest, he would pray for a chance to lip-lock some highschool hottie under the bleachers, or hit me in the head with a heavy blunt object and bury me in the backyard, but what will we hear? We'll hear the train of perfectly crafted prayerspeak sentences. Gone will be the honesty, lost will be the innocence, and the Proper"D", well, who knows what it will look like by then.
Until then, everyone please bow your heads and say a simple prayer for the Proper"D".
-Kevin
1 comment:
You have such a great point. We often pray using words that we may not fully comprehend and feel that we must be formal when speaking to God, but we don't oft ask for what really matters or tell him how we really feel. I love listening to all of the boys prayers now that they are old enough because they re-ground me and help me see the innocence and sincerity that we can all lose sight of from time to time. To the Proper"D".
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