The rhythm of His dealings with us: In the Rocking Chair

My little boy, fearfully and wonderfully made, crawls into my lap and asks me to rock him. (He’s five. This never happens.) I have time, for once, so I open hands and lap and heart to him. As I have done so many times since he was a baby, I thanked God for him as we rocked, for making me his mommy, and for his wonderfully made little body.

This time, I did it out loud. We rocked, and grace covered his entire body, as my words just acknowledged what I knew to be there: God’s blessing on him, God’s work in Him, God’s love for him.

The rhythm of the prayer follows the rhythm of God’s dealings with us.

“We love Him because He first loved us.”

He gives, we receive.

He loves, we become lovely.

He blesses, we overflow in blessings to others.

With this rhythm in mind, I prayed my way from his head to his toes.

The prayer went something like this:

Thank you God, for making this boy, and for making me his mother.

Thank you for giving him these nice brown eyes— eyes for seeing the beauty of Your creation.

Thank you for giving him a brain for learning and for storing Your Word. Fill his mind with wisdom as he grows, that he may know of Your love for him,  that he may bless others with what he knows.

Thank you for giving him a wonderful smile that makes my heart happy, and a mouth to taste the good things you give. Fill his mouth with grace, that He may speak kind and loving things to others.

Thank you for giving him ears, that he may hear music, and laughter, and the noise of tractors, and the song of birds. Keep his ears ever open to Your Word.

Thank you for giving this child sweet cheeks for kissing!

Thank you for giving this boy a straight back, strong shoulders and strong arms. May those arms receive much love and hugs from others, from mommy and daddy and his brothers and sisters. As his muscles grow, may his desire to serve grow, that he may use his muscles to be a helper to those you send him.

Thank you, Father, for these perfect hands. Teach them to always be open towards You, that they may receive Your blessings with a grateful heart. Fill them with what they need for this day and as he grows. Take his hands, Father, and help them to be strong, willing to serve, and kind. May they often fold in prayer and rise in praise.

Thank you for his tummy, too, where he can keep all the good things you give him to eat. Thank you for filling his body with good food today. May he use the blessings that you give him to love you and serve others, today and always.

Thank you, Father, for his legs that help him run so fast, and his feet that help him stand up tall. May He always run into your arms when he needs forgiveness, comfort, or help of any kind. Direct his paths that he may walk in your ways. I do not know where these feet will travel in this life, Lord, but I ask that wherever he goes, you will keep him safe in Your grace.

Thank you, Father, for making every part of this child just as you planned.

In the name of the One who gives his body for us, who covers us in His righteousness, and who has redeemed us with His blood, Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord. Amen.

 In other places and with other children, this prayer sounds a little different, but it always imitates the dance between God and men.

Jesus loves, we are loved, and we become lovely.

That night in the rocking chair, my little superhero melted in my arms. As I put him to bed, he asked, “If I had a bad dream tonight, will you do that for me again? What you just did?”

“You mean rock you?”

“No, say that thing, what you just said.”

I smiled. “Sure, son.”

  

And may God, through the Holy Spirit, say it to you often and always.

You are wonderfully made. You are loved.

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