My nightly prayer varies each day, but it usually goes a little like this:
Dear God,
Thank you for my babies. Thank you for choosing me for them and them for me. Thank you for their health. Thank you for their strength.
Thank you for Toby. Thank you for his funny giggle, his dimples, the way he looks at me, the way he cuddles when he’s sleepy. Thank you for his backward scoot, the way he wrinkles his nose and his smirk.
Thank you for Eleanor. Thank you for her expressive chattering, for her giggle that trills, for the way she clings to my shoulder when I carry her, for the huge grin she always has when she wakes. Thank you for the times she hits a milestone first and for a stubbornness that will guarantee her perseverance.
Thank you for Callista. Thank you for giving us a taste of Heaven’s sugar in her, the sweetest person I’ve ever met. Thank you for her voice of the week. Thank you for showing me how beautiful I am by creating her as my Mini Me. Thank you for her giggles that are more like shrieks, how she loves to jump, and the way she loves to be in the bath with the back of her head resting in the water.
Thank you for Rob. I couldn’t design a better husband and father of my babies. You know what You’re doing.
Thank you for giving me such wonderful parents. Watching them as grandparents has been a dream come true. I couldn’t ask for more love and support.
Thank you for keeping me strong, for my moments of clarity and for finally blessing me with patience.
Watch over my friends and family. Give them peace and strengthen their faith.
(various people and requests come next)
******
I never close my prayers because I always drift off to sleep, counting my blessings. I always have, and because of that, I’m not quite sure how to close a personal, unscripted prayer.
Over and out, amen?
What a beautiful, sweet prayer for your family. You are blessed.
Thank you for sharing! Its a good reminder for everyone to count blessings daily.
Truthfully, I never say “amen.” I kinda like that it’s an ongoing conversation … rather than constantly ending my side of it with an “amen.”
I love this prayer!
AMEN.
I too never “end” my prayer but rather just fall asleep. When I wake up I continue or “begin” that similar prayer again and continue to pray throughout the day. I think of it as my continuous conversation with God.
That is a beautiful prayer. So joyful. I love that you are thankful for being chosen for these sweethearts as well as them be chosen for you. When I think about mothering my daughter, this is exactly how I feel. I’ve felt so much awe at being the mother to guide this little person that I loved so much that it took my breath away. I love that God has kept you strong and given you clarity and patience. You have certainly gone through a lot and have handled it with grace.
I also love that you are describing Toby’s, Eleanor and Callista’s personalities and milestones in your prayer as well as in your blog. One day, you may want to make a book for each of them with snippets from your blog. When my daughter was little, I kept a diary about her. I didn’t do a very good job of keeping up with it. But we did do a good job of photographing her. We have made several photo books using Shutterfly.
Thank you for being so generous is sharing your blessings with us with your blog.
This is just beautiful. You are so blessed
I love your prayer and the fact that it doesn’t actually end and continues day after day! Thank you Lord for Love!