Prayer for Love and Growth

As we settle into summer, the Morning Glories have reappeared in our garden, seeking a stage to climb. On occasion, we gently redirect their growth to a trellis along the garden fence. Once in touch with the support they need, they know how to continue their ascent to thrive in the light. It is their nature to flourish above the ground. In a way, the trellis and vine become inseparable.

It is a blessing for us that our children and grandchildren live nearby. It allows for casual conversations, and we keep aware of their interests and activities. It would be difficult to explain how consoling it is for us to hear their voices and listen to their stories.

The grandkids range in age from nineteen to five years old; each one has a unique point of reference. It’s great fun for us to hear of their challenges, goals, and the friendships they enjoy. For us, it brings back a lot of memories of our own life transitions and watching our children, their parents, navigate growing-up experiences.

Sometimes we’ll ask a question to see if what they’re learning has any reference to our own personal histories. Occasionally we’ll follow up with an anecdote from fifty or more years ago. Compared to when we were young, the world of information and technology has changed dramatically. I think that the human heart’s capacity for faith and vision hasn’t changed.

When we attentively listen to our children speak about their interests, their daily experiences, what enlightens them, we perform the guiding task of helping them survey what directions grace is calling them. In small ways, we help the vine find the trellis.

The Finding of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41—52), the Fifth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary, recounts the parents anxiously seeking and finding their son. In the Temple, His Father’s house, they find him among the teachers. The text tells us that the young Jesus is there listening, asking, understanding, and answering (Luke 2:46—47).

I think that as we raise our children, we are encouraging them to find the Father’s House, that is, their experience of God, His life-growing love for them. Like the Morning Glory, we gently coax them to cling to what makes them flourish, the relationships that enrich, the learning that inspires, and the leadership that serves.

Let us ask God’s Spirit to help us embrace our family prayer as a celebration of our vocation as parents.