Madeline has taken a new interest in “writing” prayers. She makes up a prayer and asks me to jot down her words as her thoughts meander aloud. Some of what comes out of her mouth is nonsensical; some of it just plain silly. Yet, I’ve been struck by some of the tender things she has said in her self-authored prayers.
Her faith truly is childlike. She believes because she believes. She needs no proof. Love – whether for your parents or for God – is simply something you feel, not something you analyze. She’s also thankful for all the little things in life. She watches the way the trees dance in the fall breeze. She notices the extra redness and crispness of apples this season. She doesn’t just count her blessings – she relishes in them. In fact, the backbone of her prayers is not petitions but blessings and gratitude. I could learn a lot from her.
Here are three of my favorite recent prayers she recited:
Prayer 1
We thank you for the chicken. We thank you for the blessings. We thank you for all the treats and goodies, and we also thank you for God. For all the thanks and praise.
And everyone gets the sun. And people see birds, and they go, “Tweet! Tweet!” We thank you for all these blessings and the trees.
The corn pops up and the apples, and we pick them. You can eat them for dinner. We thank you for the blessings. We thank you for everyone.
We also thank you for the God and the praise and for all the people and all the people here.
I hope you join us in the “funnest” career.For all the birds that go “tweet, tweet,”
And for all the birdies that go to sleep.And for all the thanks and for all the love and the Dixie think.
[I interrupted here and asked her what the “Dixie think” meant and she said, “I don’t know,” and then added, “The prayer’s all done.”)
Prayer 2
Thank you, thank you for all the food. A Dixie bird is flying out the window and when you have an apple and you cut it up, please remember to take a seed. If you plant it in the yard, it will grow into a tree that reaches the stars.
Prayer 3 (my personal favorite)
We pray to the Lord. Is God here? Yes, He is. Amen.
Is God here? Yes, He is. Yes, He is. Thanks for the reminder, Madeline.
“The Dixie think” – LOL! If only we could keep that kind of faith – wouldn’t that just keep everything so much easier? Funny how adults have to make it so complicated …
Up until I went off to college, I did a pretty good job of keeping up that childlike faith (which is my favorite kind). Your beautiful daughter just reminded me that I should go back to that simplicity. Give her a hug and a “Thanks” from me!
I love it! It’s such a kick to get a window into their thoughts — at some point we stop sharing with such unselfconscious honesty. The last one gave me shivers (the good kind).