At our house, we used to let AJ select which prayer we would say at mealtime: God is great, Thank you for the world so sweet, or Come Lord Jesus. The latter was known for a long time as Addie's prayer, in honor of our friend Addie from whom he first heard it.
Now, Sydney wants to get in on the action.
She doesn't know many of the words. But she's good at closing her eyes. (Never mind that she often interrupts the last line of the prayer to announce, "I close my EYES.") She's starting to fold her hands. And she loves alternating with her brother on selecting which prayer to say.So for the last couple months, we start each meal with, "Who's turn is it to pick?" Two arms shoot up in the air in hopeful anticipation. (Thank you to AJ's preschool for teaching the good manners, which were then passed along to Sydney.) For the longest time, it was pretty predictable. AJ always chose Come Lord Jesus. Sydney picked God is great.
Not too long ago, AJ pointed out that this was getting boring. We gave him a chance that night to say his own prayer. I wish I'd written down what he said. As I recall, the future preacher had lots to be thankful for besides just the food. The next night, I reminded him of Thank you for the world so sweet, so we said that a few nights in a row until he seemed to get the hang of it again.
This is where the "I don't get it" part comes in. When it's Sydney's turn to pick, she now always chooses "Jesus." Don't make the mistaken assumption as we did that this means Come Lord Jesus. She will interrupt in protest. The Jesus prayer, to her, is Thank you for the World so sweet. Huh? Let's review the words:
Thank you for the world so sweet.
Thank you for the food we eat.
Thank you for the birds that sing.
Thank you God for everything. Amen.
The name Jesus is never mentioned. Perhaps I should just be thrilled that she's making the connection of the various names for our Savior.
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