You only get one first time for everything. Today, for the first time, little Al started our morning prayer by herself as we were pulling out of the driveway. For nearly seven years, I have been driving one of our little girls to the Early Education Center at St. Therese and during that time we have said the same prayer every morning. It's a prayer my mom and I made up when I was just a little kid and I have been saying it religiously since that time.
I am no different than you. I struggle with faith and belief and religion and will do so until the day I die and that's okay. At the same time I believe it's my responsibility to teach my children that prayer can be an important part of their lives. Not a crutch to use when you feel weak but a tool you can use to focus on the positives in our lives and not the negatives. One line from our prayer is this, "thank you God for our blessings, for our home, our food, our clothes, our health we are very fortunate and understand that there are many people out there who don't have these things, and need help."
I guess what I'm trying to do is provide some perspective into what prayer can be and how it can keep us centered and grounded. It doesn't always work. Last week Ruby told me that we only do "free" stuff. Talk about a shot in the gut. She's no dummy and at six years old can already see the differences between people economically. My kids have no needs that go unmet, but they certainly have wants that do. I'm okay with that.
I have faith that if I can instill in my kids an attitude of gratitude then, as the cultural influences that I can't control that are blasted repeatedly into their consciousness, they have the foundation in giving thanks and not in asking for more. I have faith in that.
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