a prayer on a monday


Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for mama and daddy and my sisters. Thank you that daddy is handsome and nice. Bwess (bless) mama to feel better so we can have fun tomorrow. Thank you that Mya did so good today at renastics (gymnastics). Thank you that Mya could be so beautiful and fun. Thank you for Elle and for the way we play together. Please help all the people to be gentle and kind and full of sparkles. Bwess the whole world to be beautiful.

Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Her prayers are always pure and simple. Her heart is tender and good. She is kind with everybody she meets. This morning was rough. I nearly threw in the towel on Monday at 8:30am. Birdie screamed for 2.5 straight hours, which is rare, but it happens, and I was frazzled and tired. After a few rushed rounds of "duck, duck, goose," I asked Genevieve to say a prayer that my day would be better. She smiled and said, "Oh yes mama, I want you to have a better day." She squeezed my hand tight and prayed such a simple prayer, and after she looked at me and asked, "Okay mama, is your day better yet?" She believed her prayer would produce immediate results. Determined not to crush her excitement, I changed my grumpy face to a smile and really tried to have a better day. (Truth be told: My day was still terrible, but I smiled a lot more than I probably would've without her prayer.)

There are moments when I am frazzled (mostly because of excessive noise), and I feel my house is spinning out of control. In an effort to quiet the chaos, I generally separate the children and deal with each one alone, but today amidst the constant chaos and my fussy mood, I sat and watched my children interact with each other. Watching them did my heart good. I watched V snap Felicity's outfit so patiently even though Felicity kept kicking her legs back and forth in her face. (I would've been frustrated, but not Genevieve, nope, she's a champ.) And as V helped dress her, Birdie just kept screaming in my arms with no regard to my attempts to calm her, and I watched Elle pick up a book and begin to read to her. It didn't calm her, but Elle seemed to think it would do something so I decided not to rush her out the door. The moment was pure chaos, but it was one I hope I will always remember.

2 comments :

  1. V needs to teach my kids how to pray. Thank goodness for the good moments with the kids. May I remember those and forget all the terrible. Love you Janine!

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  2. This prayer almost brought a tear to my eye. She has such an angelic face, what a sweet heart.

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"Be kind and considerate with your criticism... It's just as hard to write a bad book as it is to write a good book." Malcolm Cowley