Bedtime Prayers

Last month my friend's mom had a stroke and died suddenly. Now another dear friend just found out her mother is in the last stage of cancer, out of the blue. She flew to be with her and tonight I babysat her kids to allow her husband a night off. After I read the 5-year-old a book and tucked her in, she called after me that we were supposed to say a prayer and I needed to sing her a song. Poor kid. She didn't know what she was asking for, but I somehow squeaked out a passable "Jesus, I Adore You". Then she asked if we could take turns praying - she'd pray one thing and I would pray something. I have to tell you, there is something so lovely about the prayers of a child. When she prayed for her grandma to feel better, I almost lost it. And then, in her tiny little voice, she sang me the sweetest song - a song they sing at school every morning. Later when I was putting the 9-year-old to bed, I got another song request. If I had known I would've been doin' all that singing, I would have practiced. But little ears are very forgiving and I think they were just glad I was game enough to sing. He didn't sing anything in return, but he did pray for people around the world and then bid me adieu with "G'night. Love you." Melted my heart into a puddle.

I feel like something is shifting in me lately. At church we've been talking about maturing, about taking a step forward and a step up. And I feel like I'm supposed to be doing just that. For so long I haven't quite felt like a woman and sometimes I blame that on looking young or not having a family or never feeling like I was mentored. But now I feel distinctly led towards a different kind of maturity and I'm stumbling towards it, tripped up here and there by an uneven path. Even so, I go....