Above, a few great old (relatively) pictures of Naomi. I think she is three here. Below, a prayer that was somewhat contrived in motivation, though sincere, I think, in word, as is everything that comes from Naomi's mouth (for better or for worse). She is trying to complete her book for Awana (a church club for children) which entails memorizing scriptures and completing various activities and charts. One of the charts is about praying for people. That annoys me, because to me I think praying should be a personal choice, not something that one can check off ten times in a row. It's one thing to suggest that it is thoughtful or helpful to pray for others, but to make a checklist to "pass" a section, well it just seems silly and artificial. So I've never really emphasized that section.
Anyway, so when Naomi said she was tired of working on this (she always forgets) and wanted to do it all at once, I didn't object. (When it's about filling in the box, it's going to be about filling in the box!) The box she was working on was "pray for your teacher." (Being home schooled, of course that meant me.) She had five more prayers to do, and was determined to knock them out in one shot. She was sitting in at dining room table by herself, and I was kitchen. This is what I overheard...
"Dear God,
Thank you for mom.
Thank you that she is my teacher, and I don’t have to go to school OR day care.
Thank you for mom.
Thank you for mom.
Please help her to live way longer than I think she’s going to.
I love mom. And I love you. I love you and mom the most. Well, I love you the most, but mom almost as much- only one inch less than you.
Thank you for mom. I love her. I love you. I love everyone in the whole world. Practically.
Amen."
Check!
