I put son Sam to bed last night. He is old enough to do this mostly for himself but he still likes being read to and he still submits to being hugged and kissed, but only a little. I think he hugs back but he doesn't like kissing and since we are heading toward adolescence at warp speed I am okay with that.
Recently it has mostly been my husband who puts Sam to bed. I spent almost a year working many long hours and it became easier for the two of them to work out a plan than me to stop, put Sam to bed and start again. Mark was gone often during the years the older boys were being put to bed, so he very much enjoyed the time with Sam. They have their own things that they share and it has been very positive for both of them.
However, Mark is tied up for a little while and last night it was my turn. Besides the normal complaints about how he wasn't tired and didn't want to go to bed, it was a piece of cake. Only one real slighly annoying moment was when he put his hands on his hips and sighed at me and rolled his eyes. I had a horrible flashback to his brother at 13 and nearly went looking for the number to a military boarding school. I simply got very quiet and raised my eyebrows and he recovered quickly. Oh that this response would last.
He cleaned up, did all the normal stuff to get ready for bed and we read a story about a little boy who ate fruit during a rain storm and turned invisible. I think this had no impact on Sam but I was sure I would have nightmares. I think he is made of tougher stuff than me. It is a well written book with lots of humor, but just enough off center to make me wonder if the author knows he is funny.
Finally, two chapters later, I put the book down and Sam prays. Says the same prayer he has said in going to bed that I think he has prayed ever since he could talk. He prays the now I lay me down to sleep prayer with a modification I made for his brothers many, many years ago. We don't pray about dying before we wake, we pray to be kept safe all through the night and be awakened with the morning light. Then he prayed for his immediately famiy, his grandmothers and all his aunts and uncles and cousins. It is very very close to the same prayer his brothers prayed every night with me or their dad until they were too old to be put to bed. I don't know if they go on praying it for themselves or not. I would hope they have added some diversity to their prayers, and some silence in listening for a response, but I hope that tradition has been a good foundation for developing a prayer life.
I was struck last night at the normalcy my kids have found in prayer at least before meals and bedtime. I wonder how much of that tradition continues in the lives of their friends. I wonder if the foundation we lay has the impact we hope and if when Sam prays he feels God's presence, his watchful eye and protection as he sleeps. If he realizes when he prays that God would bless us, he is inviting God to be very active in our lives. Or does he just pray with the childlike response to the right process for sleeping. I dont know for sure, but I do know that his brothers have developed a strong sense of faith and the reality of God in their lives. I pray for the same in Sam.
And when I prayed last night, and again this morning, it was with thanks that God would give me the sense of wonder and appreciation to enjoy praying with my child again.
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