The Daily Prayer

The preschool that Avery attends, St. Paul's, has a wonderful tradition that I try to enjoy every morning. Right around 8:15 every morning, one of the teachers will "ring the bell" for the kids to all line up. This is just about the time Avery and I are arriving every morning, after dropping Zoey off at the "big school". All of the kids, teachers, and any parents that are there and wish to, form a big circle holding hands.

One of the teachers will open up with the "Open/Shut Them" song:

Open...shut them, Open...shut them,
Give a great big CLAP CLAP CLAP.
Open...shut them, Open...shut them,
Put them in your LAP LAP LAP.

This is the cue for all of the kids to fold their hands in prayer in front of them. Then, each room takes a turn during the week to choose a child to say the prayer.

The prayer is spoken by the chosen child and then repeated by the whole circle. These are the most honest, and heart warming prayers, coming from the mouths of 3-5 year old children.

Today's was (spoken by a boy from the Gold room):

Dear Jesus,
Thank you for all of the food.
Amen

Now while this prayer might not seem so heartwarming (but it did put a smile on my face, as they usually do) this whole tradition is something that changes my mornings. If I'm having a rough morning, trying to get the girls out the door on time, fighting traffic, etc., this simple act of saying a simple prayer, out of the mouth of a child makes me stop and count my blessings, remember what is really important.

Yeah God...Thank You for all of the food! And all of the other blessings you bestow on us!