Catholic Faith | Grandpa's Garden | catholic family life
Our oldest child just celebrated a birthday. The day she was born, we drove country roads in the predawn darkness to the community hospital. It was the first day of school in the town, and as it happened, the weather was beautiful.
When we arrived, the staff whisked away the expectant mom. I donned delivery room attire and waited. I learned that “labor” is appropriately named. Eventually, I joined my wife and listened, encouraged, and supported the best I could, realizing I was somewhat helpless. My role was to be there with her.
Our second child was born several years later on another perfect weather day. Labor began on Easter Sunday, and our son arrived on Monday, a wonderful day to begin a new life.
Recently, we had leisurely conversations with our son and daughter. They have their own families, careers, and dreams. To see and be with them is an inexpressible consolation. No words adequately explain how these evolving relationships shape who we are and are becoming. We enjoy, treasure, and ponder what we began many years ago.
We sometimes wonder how our parents and grandparents would have reacted to their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I suspect they would have been beyond joyful.
Foundation of Prayer
This interrelatedness, this communion, can teach us something about the foundations of prayer.
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The Lord brings us into Creation out of love, to grow in love. Families have different shapes and dimensions, yet the common element is how we are together, the bonds that form us. And while families can produce challenges and difficulty, there is always the hope of growth, reconciliation, and the fruit of love’s mysterious energy. Grace abounds. It is hard to put into words.
“It is good to hope in silence for the saving help of the LORD.” (Lamentations 3:26)
Prayer Makes Us Sensitive To All The Love In Our Lives
One mode of effective prayer can be wordless and unspoken. This can include waiting, enjoying, pondering, treasuring, and occasionally lamenting and longing. In our prayer, we are present to the Lord, who is always present to us. We don’t have to say anything; we can allow the Spirit to guide our thoughts, give insight into our feelings, and gradually help form our words.
“Persevere in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving;” (Colossians 4:2)
Let us pray in our families in gratitude for all the ways we are loved.