Wonder in a Time of Worry

Here Gail offers us another suggestion for Praying with Children:

Sheltering our families in place becomes a weighty task if we allow the “what-ifs” to fester while reading the news. A pandemic illness can drive arrows of fear into our minds. Worry can easily take up residence in our hearts.

Younger children may feel sad or wonder why they are kept from playing with friends or seeing extended family. Older children may worry about their own health or become anxious about a loved one.

One thing is sure: children are seekers of truth and they depend on parents and other key adults to model how to navigate such a time as this. And wonder is a powerful antidote to worry.

Gather the family and take turns reading aloud Ralph Waldo Emerson’s prayer poem. Children may want to draw while listening. Share favorite images and ask what feelings they prompt. Invite older children to write out favorite verses and decorate them. Hang the artwork throughout the house. Enjoy a “prayer-walk” to look, listen and discover springtime wonders of God’s creation in the garden or neighborhood.

Father, We Thank Thee
For flowers that bloom about our feet,
Father, we thank Thee.
For tender grass so fresh, so sweet,
Father, we thank Thee.
For the song of bird and hum of bee,
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.

For blue of stream and blue of sky,
Father, we thank Thee.
For pleasant shade of branches high,
Father, we thank Thee.
For fragrant air and cooling breeze,
For beauty of the blooming trees,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.

For this new morning with its light,
Father, we thank Thee.
For rest and shelter of the night,
Father, we thank Thee
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.