Here's a brief glimpse into my prayer life during the summer months:
"Eternal Father I offer You..."
"Mom! May I have a drink please?"
Get said drink.
"the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of...
"Come quick! You'll NEVER believe what Zeb did all over the kitchen floor!!" Errr...yes I WILL believe it - I can smell it from here. Zeb is our very old, deaf, senile dog who, I kid you not, poos in threes. Always. In some ways this is helpful since if I only find two, I simply look at the bottom of my shoe and most of the time the third is there. "If you know he goes in threes, why not walk around it?" you may ask. Well, it's really not that simple. We have a tile pattern on the kitchen floor that is light but contains a dark diamond shape in the center and I'm sure you know where the missing one lands - right in the center of that diamond. In other words, it's camouflaged. My husband swears to me that Zeb does it on purpose, "Hon, what are the odds that one of them will land in the center of the diamond almost every single day?"
He's got a point there.
"Your dearly beloved Son, our.."
Crash!!! I jump up and run into my daughter's room to find her under a pile of games after trying to remove the bottom game from the pile that is in the top of her very messy closet.
Sigh.
"Where was I Lord?"
I can visualize this whole episode!!!The life of a mother is never dull is it Mary!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the reality check and the great laugh!!!
God bless!
I am usually not very tolerant of interruptions, but I'm learning that we can only try our best to carve out of our day a time for God alone. I sometimes forget that God is in the midst of the interruptions! Loved the honesty and descriptiveness of this post.
ReplyDeleteDear God,
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry for all these interruptions, but I'm sure you know what it's like being a busy parent!
I bet you sometimes look down upon us, your children, and shake your head in despair ... and then smile and forgive once again.
DG,
ReplyDeleteReal life always sets in :) God bless you, too!
Oh my gosh that is too funny with your description. I did not know your dog had the same name as my 22 year old Cockatiel. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteJade,
ReplyDeleteUntil I had a child I never really ran into this problem. During the summer, I try to pray in the early morning, then around 3:00, and before I go to sleep. It's usually during the 3:00 prayer time that these interruptions take place :) And, yes, my dog really does this!
It's hard to keep yourself in a prayerful state when children are running around and your dog is "losing it" (lol)!
Victor,
ReplyDeleteActually, I usually blame the interruptions on God. "You created them, Lord! I'm not to blame!" (Grin)
HAHAHA!!! I can relate :) Even as an Auntie, it's hard to keep track of where I am in a prayer that's longer than 2 minutes to say and it's hard to contemplate Jesus while your attention is trying to divide equally between the 3 of them! But it's so sweet, it makes me remember that LIVING LIFE and playing with them and loving them in their chaos is prayer in itself :) How old are your children?
ReplyDeleteHi JBR! Zeb is short for Zebedee from the Bible. Last year (?) you had posted that your bird was named Zeb and I had to laugh at the coincidence :) Not exactly a common name! My Zeb is quite senile and has accidents all the time but we love him anyway! God bless!
ReplyDeleteAnna,
ReplyDeleteI only have 1 child (a gift from God - it was a miracle that I even had her) but my condo is always filled with kids. Her friends all like to hang out here for some reason. Michaela just turned 8 last week :)
I liked your comment "LIVING LIFE and playing with them and loving them in their chaos is prayer in itself" - this is so true!
Mary, as always, you have such a wonderful sense of humor!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your interrupted prayer, Mary. Quiet prayer time will come for both of us far too soon. There's something really special about praying amidst the chaos of family life. Thanks for the great story. God bless!
ReplyDeleteAnne,
ReplyDeleteMost of the time - not so great when I have to disinfect the floor every day :)
Sue,
ReplyDeleteI agree and I'm not looking forward to it. Better to have interrupted prayer and kids laughter :)
Mary, I've missed your wonderful sense of humor! LOL!
ReplyDeleteEsther,
ReplyDeleteI get a lot of uninterrupted prayer time during the rest of the year. It's only during the summer that I run into these difficulties. Except the dog - his accidents are a year-round thing. Gross but true :)
Sounds like "how mom writes a novel" --> http://philangelus.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/how-mom-writes-a-novel/
ReplyDeleteJane,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link - I'll check it out :) It's amazing that moms get anything accomplished, isn't it?!
(laughing with you)
ReplyDeleteGod Bless.