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Learning to Pray

I'm sure every parent has one of these stories, so I'm sure it won't be as funny to you as it was to us. Our pride is a bit injured, but the humor is still there as well. I hope you won't take it as sacrilegious, but rather as a 3 year old's play.

Elisabeth has taken to repeating after us as we pray during devotions, and I was so impressed with her desire to pray. Currently we are going through Advent devotionals that have written prayers. Yesterday the topic was the new covenant and God writing his law on our hearts (from Jeremiah). Not a very tangible concept for a 3 year old. But we were trying. When it came time to pray, Elisabeth was in a wiggly mood, but that was nothing new. I tried to get her to hold still and fold her hands and stop playing with toys. She always was very interested in repeating after us phrase by phrase, but she seemed so distracted. I finally decided to begin. Here's how it went:

L: Dear God,
E: Dear God,
L: we ask you to write your new law
E: (playing with her sock) We ask you to write your new sock
L: (trying to stay focused) your new law on our hearts.
E: your new law on my . . . foot
L: on our hearts. May Jesus come in
E: May Jesus come in . . . to my sock
L: (trying to interrupt) in and take away all our sins.
E: take away all our . . .sins from my . . .sock. . . Mommy, what are you sniffing?
L: (trying to hide her face in the chair so her daughter won't see her laughing)
E: Mommy, what are you sniffing?
L: (really NOT wanting her daughter to know that she is cracking up over her misbehavior; finally coming to grips enough to speak) John, can you finish praying?
J: Elisabeth, why don't you just listen this time.

***
John was able to finish praying, and I was able to contain my laughter, but later when Elisabeth was in bed we shared a few good chuckles. I'm not sure what we'll do for devotions tonight.

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