Sometimes, when a thing can't be exactly the way I want it or the way it should be, I skip it. Even if it's a good thing. And that's a bad thing. Because things don't have to be perfect to be fruitful.
I thought of this this past week when one of my sons wanted to pray the Rosary every day. That's a very good thing, right? Yep. And even more so because in the past he's been voted "Least Likely to Pray Voluntarily." So when any child, but that child in particular, asks to pray and talk about all-things Faith, Russ and I do it.
But a couple of those days it was really inconvenient and it was far less than perfect. One afternoon, aforementioned child asked me to pray with him and I agreed, but the timing was so off. The Rosary that we said wasn't the prayerful experience I tend to think the Rosary ought to be. I was nursing the baby, then changing diapers, then rubbing a bruised head, then taking dinner out of the oven while calling out the prayer responses from the kitchen.
It was not a perfect Rosary. It was an ill-timed attempt at prayer during the busiest part of the day, and I probably should have suggested we wait, but instead we plowed through it - diapers, crying, oven timers, and all.
That's not what it's usually like around here when we have family prayer time. Usually we do try to gather in relative peace and quiet to sit and pray with limited distractions. But that afternoon that imperfectly prayed Rosary did serve to illustrate this to my children and me:
Our daily life is not peaceful and perfect, so our prayer is not likely going be that way either. We don't need to wait for a perfect, peaceful moment (either mentally, or in the home) to pray. It's more important that our faith and prayer are woven into all we do - including those disorderly, imperfect parts. The distractions of that afternoon were not ideal, but when they happened they reinforced that fact that our faith and life are inseparable and one does not have to be practiced independent of the other.
* * * * * *
"...there is something holy, something divine hidden in the most ordinary
situations, and it is up to each on of you to discover it."
Passionately Loving the World, St. Josemaria Escriva
Linking up with Gina at Someday (Hopefully) They'll Be Saints.
giiiiirl! you are on a roll with these posts! holy cow! anyways, loved this "Our daily life is not peaceful and perfect, so our prayer is not likely going be that way either." and this, "our faith and life and inseparable and one does not have to be practiced independent of the other." wow! so simple and so profound. no wonder why i always feel like a failure when it comes to prayer! because i'am holding myself up to a standard from before i had kids! hmmmm. good stuff to really think about. thanks :)
ReplyDeleteOh I get this picture I really do! Could be a shot from my life, I'm always worried they're going to snap those beads
ReplyDeleteOh and your words, the story, so real, so my life too!
So beautiful! I love that he was wanting to share a rosary with you! Beautiful reflection, Theresa! I enjoyed every line!
ReplyDeleteSooooo true! It's such a good (hard) reminder that our prayer isn't going to be peaceful and perfect, especially in families with lots of littles running around! Ora et Labora, right? Prayer and work together. You surely made prayer a part of your life that day! ;)
ReplyDeleteThis is so true!! God belongs everywhere, all the time in our lives. Even (especially!) through daily chaos. Good job! :)
ReplyDeleteAs I've been told so many times, "the perfect is the enemy of the good." Thank you for the reminder that prayer said, even said imperfectly, is still prayer said!
ReplyDelete"Our daily life is not peaceful and perfect, so our prayer is not likely going be that way either." Oh my, YES. This nailed me between the eyes this morning. Just what I needed to remember. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all of the kind feedback :)
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