One of my favorite books to read with Abbey before she goes to sleep at night is "Time for Bed." It's a short, simple poetic lullaby of different animal babies - yes, you guessed it - going to bed. My favorite line is: "It's time for bed, little calf, little calf. What happened today that made you laugh?"
Other than the precious act of Abbey leaning down and kissing each animal on every page (o.m.g. it's so precious), this line is my favorite part. What a great question. What happened today that made you laugh?
I can imagine the writer of this book at 2 a.m. the night before the final draft was due, refilling her coffee cup and silently cursing herself for choosing a calf for one of the animals. What rhymes with calf?! She probably would have thought the snake page would have been her biggest challenge…does anyone really want to think about snakes at bedtime….yea, I didn't think so.
And then I can see her sheer excitement over her own brilliance when she came up with it - right at the moment when she knew if she didn't shower now, she would be running very late for the meeting with her publisher. (I have no clue how the publishing process goes, so just humor me here…).
"What happened today that made you laugh?" Oh my gosh that is perfect! It's so different than the other lines that talk about why it's time for bed or how the Mamas can't believe that the babies are still awake! (like that darn snake!)
I think we all need to ask ourselves this question before we lie down every night. Too often our days are one big ball of blurry hurriedness. We have so much to do. So many things to check off the list. So many reasons to make us rush through our day just wanting it to be over, only to get up and blur through another one all over again. How often do we pause to appreciate the simple goodness of our days? Even when (or especially when) the day is not so good, and it's a long shot to think of something that happened to make us laugh. Don't you think it's important to look for the joy, the funny, and the humor that really does exist in this world? I wonder how we would grow and change if we were to make this search for laughter a daily spiritual discipline….
I get excited about reading that page to Abbey when she is old enough to answer the question. I can't wait to hear the joy in her voice when she tells me something that was funny from her day. (At this point, I'm sure it will likely involve her buddy Izzy). I can't wait to laugh with her when she recounts the memory. And then, with that being one of the last things on her sweet little mind before she falls asleep, I can't wait to find out how the funny story carried her in her dreams and woke her up with a smile on her face. Ready for a new day. Excited to find out what will happen this day to make her laugh.
Showing posts with label joy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label joy. Show all posts
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Monday, March 30, 2015
Writing to God: Monday of Holy Week
Psalm 148
In Praise of Green
(Along with this prompt, I am deciding to use Mark 11: 12-14 as inspiration for this prayer).
"Praise the Lord!…Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds! Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and women alike, old and young together! Let them praise the name of the Lord…"
We sing with the Psalmist our praises to you, O God.
As the fig tree stands in the shadow of early morning sun. Her leaves full and green.
What a strange time it is to be so joyful, God. The Earth is pulling out pastels and highlighters from the drawer, dusting them off, and doodling so much color upon the ground.
She stands tall and proud. Confident. In control of her timing and gifts.
What a funny season to be so sad. It is a week just like any other. Life is only as hard as we make it, right? What is it they say? The grass is always greener on the other side. Just help me get through this week God, so I can lay down in the greener grass….
As a man approaches the fig tree standing there so proud. Happy to see a visitor, she gives a stretch and a gentle rustle in the warm breeze. But his look of disappointment captures her eye. And he walks away angry.
For the budding of first flowers, and for the silvery dew upon the green grass, we praise you, God. For the opportunity to walk with you one day at a time, we praise you, God.
In seasons of abundance and in seasons of waiting, help us to stand tall and weather the storm;
praying that, in time, we will bear fruit for your Kingdom.
Amen.
In Praise of Green
(Along with this prompt, I am deciding to use Mark 11: 12-14 as inspiration for this prayer).
"Praise the Lord!…Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds! Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and women alike, old and young together! Let them praise the name of the Lord…"
We sing with the Psalmist our praises to you, O God.
As the fig tree stands in the shadow of early morning sun. Her leaves full and green.
What a strange time it is to be so joyful, God. The Earth is pulling out pastels and highlighters from the drawer, dusting them off, and doodling so much color upon the ground.
She stands tall and proud. Confident. In control of her timing and gifts.
What a funny season to be so sad. It is a week just like any other. Life is only as hard as we make it, right? What is it they say? The grass is always greener on the other side. Just help me get through this week God, so I can lay down in the greener grass….
As a man approaches the fig tree standing there so proud. Happy to see a visitor, she gives a stretch and a gentle rustle in the warm breeze. But his look of disappointment captures her eye. And he walks away angry.
For the budding of first flowers, and for the silvery dew upon the green grass, we praise you, God. For the opportunity to walk with you one day at a time, we praise you, God.
In seasons of abundance and in seasons of waiting, help us to stand tall and weather the storm;
praying that, in time, we will bear fruit for your Kingdom.
Amen.
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