On prayer

When Lara was about 4 months old, she stopped sleeping through the night. It was interesting as I recently re-read and re-organized Lara's baby book; I wrote a lot of comments about what a good sleeper Lara was. I told Dustin that I didn't remember Lara being a good sleeper, but he reminded me that she really was such at night, just not during the day. But at 4 months, as was recorded in the baby book, Lara started waking up constantly throughout the night and would not go back to sleep without a lot of attention put towards that end. We were a mess. I was walking around like a zombie, without a clue what to do to get her to sleep. We were frustrated. I was given a lot of advice by other parents, but none of it really felt comfortable to me. I needed a solution that just felt RIGHT. I developed a solution: prayer. Every night, Dustin and I began the routine where we would stand over Lara's bed and pray for a good's night sleep-for all of us. Very, very soon, Lara went back to sleeping through the night, waking only once for a feeding, then going straight back to sleep. She was sleeping a solid 12 hours straight by 8 months.

Now, I know how some people may react to that, unfortunately-the typical spiritual, cheesy solution to such a trivial matter. But in my life, when I just don't have a clue, and feel frustrated, that is when I hear God knocking on my heart and saying, "Heeelllooo. Answer for you right here!" Too often, we only bother God with the things we feel that matter when God really wants us to bother him with it all. And as any parent will agree with: not getting sleep at night, for many nights in a row, really is a big deal. We asked God to handle it, and He did.

The routine never changed though. Still to this day, we will come together and say a quick prayer before Lara closes her eyes. We have been doing this for 2 years. Sometimes it becomes a little too routine and it can be hard to hear the Spirit moving. But tonight I experienced a real joy when Lara said, "I pray!" And she started, "Dear Jesus..." and of her own accord, she said thank you for food and drinks and her grandparents and mommy and daddy and ended with an amen...a child's prayer is so sweet to the soul.

Tonight, as I get out my prayer journal for Lara that has been collecting dust for the last week, I will be conscious of a new path I need to take in my prayers for Lara. I may ask that the potty-training will eventually reach full success or that God will guide us in good disciplining techniques, but I also need to pray that my daughter will understand God's righteousness and His love, that she will lean on Him and believe in Him with a faith that is her own. Proverbs 22:6 says, "Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it." This is a scripture that I need to pray-a matter that is by far the most important. I will pray that my daughter's sweet, innocent prayer this evening will be the first of a million more to come.