Once a month my family gets together for a special family home evening. All three of my siblings live in the Salt Lake area so I drive the farthest (about 35 minutes) to attend. It's always good to see the family despite my usually leaving with a headache and an extensive series of major anxiety attacks, all the result of too many hyperactive people crammed together for far too long; I use the word "hyperactive" referring mainly to four people who I love very very much: my two nieces, my nephew and myself.
Kaylee offered the prayer tonight to begin family home evening. She and I share a birthday and in just a couple of months she'll be 5 years old. I can't believe that she's already lived for half a decade; but it's been so fun to watch her grow up and turn into such an intelligent sweet little girl over the last several years.Kaylee did a couple of new things in her prayer tonight- things that I've never seen in a prayer before. First in her excessive string of requests for blessings in various areas and for various things, she asked Heavenly Father to "please bless that this opening prayer will be a good prayer." It's never occurred to me to pray for the current prayer but why not? A little while later she asked, "and please bless my brother Jesus that he'll be happy . . . and . . . um . . . to tell him that I love him and . . . um . . ." the prayer went on. It reminded me of a prayer she gave about a year ago when I put her to bed and she said "and please bless Eli that he won't be so naughty any more." Made me wonder what her parents are saying about me while I'm gone.I love that kid and funny as it is that she prays for prayers and wants to bless Jesus that he'll be happy, I can't help but admire the example of the adorable 4-year old. I wonder if a large part of why we are commanded to be like little children is because the way they perceive the world so much more closely resembles the way Christ does. I spend most of my time worrying about and wondering how Heavenly Father is going to help me be prosperous and happy but this sweet little girl, as is evidenced in her prayers, is concerned with the happiness of our Savior. I suppose I simply believe that God doesn't really need me to be concerned for him- he being perfect and all- but the point, rather, probably lies in a child's ability to care for someone, even if that someone is divine. See, we're told to follow in Christ's footsteps, and what better way to do that than to put forth full effort to care for him the same way we know he cares for us, even knowing that he can get by just fine without our concern.And so it goes~