Thursday, June 5, 2008

Old Dog... New Trick

Last night three friends were over at my house for faith sharing. We usually do a great job getting to the chapter we've read and discussing the questions it poses for us. Admittedly we sometimes get sidetracked on tangents here and there... but I'm sure somewhere in those tangents our faith comes into play as well. 

Sometimes we also take the whole "breaking bread together" literally and order chinese food. Just to make sure we have enough sustenance to share to our full potential, of course. We dished up our sweet and sour chicken, joined hands and Susie prepared to say grace. And that dog you see pictured all over this blog? He felt the need to join in as well. As soon as we joined hands and he realized he had no involvement in the process, he vocally reminded us of his ability to pray, which prompted Susie's prayer to begin with, "Oh, Lordy!"

For whatever reason, as is so often the case, my mind immediately went to a memory about one of my nieces and nephews. When my oldest nephew Alex was a little boy, probably about four years old, he and I were having lunch together just the two of us. We sat at the table and I said we should say grace. I'm used to the very Catholic way of doing things, but my little guy had more evangelical experiences than his aunt. He put his head in his little hand, swaying it back and forth, and began in his best southern drawl (imagine the italicized parts are exceptionally drawn out)...

"Jesus, we just want to thank you for all this food. I just wanna ask you to help me to be a good boy. And bless us, Jesus. Amen."

It was so sweet and pure and honest, it made me want to eat him up for lunch. He's still just as special at 16 as he was all those years ago, but I think the fake southern accent is probably gone when he prays now...

I'm afraid I'm still more on the Catholic side when I say grace, but I think this photo will show you that I've done my best to improve Riley's skills at praying before meals.

Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts...
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