Turning Burnt Toast into More

Shhh... it's a secret most Catholics, nay, most Christians of all denominations possess. My prayer life waxes and wanes like a candle. It could be so much better than it is.

We just started praying as couple again after taking time off from it. Schedules conflicted. And our prayer time looked more dry than a piece of burnt toast sans butter for a bit. Our communication wasn't as good. We needed to change. We needed to refocus. We needed to bring God back to the highlight of our marriage.

Don't get me wrong. It wasn't rocky. Since our marriage vows together, we have always turned to each other in times of struggles. And we've had them. He's one of the few, if not the only person, who can calm me during an anxiety attack. But, like any partnership, sometimes you just don't convey exactly what you want to say.

That's where prayer comes in. Prayer makes you vulnerable. It humbles you in front of the eyes of the Lord and those around you.

Our morning prayer time, be at home or in the car while he's driving to work, is when we are confronted with the promises to God and each other that we will strive to eliminate the sins or vices that we are prone to. We have recently been saying the morning prayers from the Baronius Press 1962 Roman Missal (one of my Mother's day presents because I'm a church nerd like that.) In part we say:

I am resolved to watch over myself with the greatest diligence, and to live soberly, justly, and piously, for the time to come. I will take care of my words, that I may not offend with my tongue. I will turn away my eyes, that they may not see vanity; and I will be particularly attentive not to relapse this day into my accustomed failings, but to struggle against them with Thy gracious assistance (60.)

A tall order! Am I right? So, what does this have to do with burnt toast prayer? I've found sitting with down with Danny has caused me to really hear what I'm promising to God in front of him and strive to be a better wife, a better mother throughout the day. But here's the kicker... it caused me to actually have a better prayer life overall.

By having a better prayer life, I am able to to be a better mother and demonstrate things to them I think are important. A "do as I do" approach to parenting. Prayer is important. Be it praying in thanks for the food before you or setting up the day for joy, prayer helps.

When parents pray in front of their kids, they learn. Our children have learned their major prayers because we have shown them how to pray. We recite the rosary, not as often as I would like, but we try. Adelaide can recite it all by herself. Bernadette, even with her speech delay, can say the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Apostles Creed. Does that mean we are perfect. Nope. I'm still a burnt toast kinda gal. And for a burnt toast child of God who has a prayer life that ebbs and flows like the tide, my heart is joyful for what I have accomplished.

With joy,

Kate