"Thank you God for play and fun, and quiet rest when day is done."
Then we add our own personal prayers thanking God for the day, prayers for our family and various other things like help obeying Mommy and Daddy or a good night's sleep.
Lately Cole will occasionally say his own prayer. We can usually only make out a few words because of his speech setbacks. Usually I hear the words Mommy, Daddy, Baby Kendall, and good night sleep, etc. Last week he prayed for Grandma a couple of times.
This week Cole has been attending our Jr. VBC (vacation bible camp) for ages 3 to 5. We weren't sure how he would do, especially with transitioning from activity to activity but he has exceeded our expectations. He loves it, especially the music and the singing. He talks about Pandamania a few times a day and yesterday evening he tried teaching me one of the songs he learned (note to self: buy CD).
At bedtime this evening we told Cole he needed to go to bed and have a good night's sleep for Pandamania. He said "Go to church for Pandamania tomorrow". For a kid who usually only repeats sentences he learns from television or in our own repetition, this was pretty impressive. Plus I think he's finally gotten the concept of when tomorrow is.
But what I really wanted to share was his prayer tonight.
Tonight when we said it was time to say our prayers. Cole jumped in and did all the praying himself. As before we could only make out a few things, but one thing we could definitely make out was the name of his Team Leader at Pandamania, Stephanie. It was so touching to hear our little boy praying on his own, but just as wonderful to hear him praying for something sincere from his own heart. Cole's regular speech is often comprised mostly of repetitive phrases or centered around favourite songs or movies. Praying for his Leader was completely his own original thought. So this prayer was encouraging on 3 levels. 1) He is obviously loving VBC and his Leader. 2) He felt the need to pray for Stephanie all on his own. and 3) Cole has figured out the purpose of prayer as opposed to something learned we say on a daily basis. A HUGE thing for a little boy who has big gaps when it comes to the purpose and function of communication.
It has recently been my prayer focus that Cole, no matter what his setback or challenges are, would simply grow up to be a man who loves and follows God. Most of the time I am left in the dark as to what is going on inside the head of my little boy. I am often left guessing how much he truly comprehends, since he is unable to communicate fluently with us. This is particularly true when it comes to spirituality. Most days I don't know some of Cole's most basic feeling (tired, hungry, cold, sore, etc.). To know that Cole is comprehending something like talking to God overwhelms and encourages me. My heart is gushing. I can hardly find the words to express my joy. Guess its my turn to have trouble communicating :)
