progress

I have 30 minutes to kill before I wake p diddy up, send him off to the Boundary Waters, and enter the life of a single parent for only the second time in our lives thus far. I know what you are thinking: Who in their right mind decides to leave at three in the morning to go camping? I ask myself the same question (actually, that is an untruth; I could arguably be insanely jealous, as an adventurous side to me secretly loves to camp out under the stars. It has been entirely too long...Hmmm, anyone up for planning a big trip anytime soon?). I will admit I am already a bit ancy at the thought of how very ancy I expect to be come Saturday evening. I will surely be out and about to prevent the stir-crazy syndrome. Props to Pete for agreeing to do this for me many more times than I have ever been faced with myself. Have fun honey! (=

Anywho (wow I must actually be tired at 2 in the morning based on my capricious vocabulary, sporadic train of thought, and impromptu self analysis. amazing. my apologies...), I wanted to record yet another Devin & God moment in order that I do not forget it entirely. Though it is most likely not word for word, what will follow is the basic dialogue of Devin's prayer before dinner tonight. I could not contain my smiles as I was reminded of the fact that authenticity in that relationship is not something I as a parent can force. But it is always so amazing to be a witness to the moments when they come naturally. And such a fulfilling way that God speaks to me through my son.

One last preface...Devin almost always insists he be the one to pray before meals, and his typical prayer goes a lot like this: "Dear Jesus, Thank you for our food, and Amen". He has been known to say some pretty complicated things from the mouth of a 4 year old in his conversations with his "real, REAL dad", so comparatively it seems quite short and sweet. But that has seemed to be his mealtime prayer for quite some time. You can imagine my surprise when it didn't end there tonight...

"Dear Jesus, Thank you for our food, and thank you for these green tortillas; they're so cool!

(quick eye opening to look out the window, followed by big smile, then eyes snap shut...)

Thank you for all of the beautiful trees that give us oxygen so that we can live. Please help us plant more trees so that we can make more oxygen. Do you think you could help us plant trees?

Also, umm, please help all the mommies and kids who don't have food to eat right now. It would be so awesome if you could send them some green tortillas, too. No, no, BLUE tortillas! Yeah, blue. That would be so cool!

Thank you for the really great story about Jesus today. And thank you that mommy found a solar system game to play on the computer. It's so cool! Amen."

"Ahhh. Let's eat!"

(5 seconds later...)

"Oh shoot mom, I forgot to tell God something! I need to pray again. Jaden, fold your hands..."

"Dear Jesus, I'm sorry for disobeying mommy. I just really have a big mess. Please help me clean up my toy room so that I can have Jonah and Jack over again tomorrow. Amen."

"Okay. Let's eat!"