Learning about God

Ever since I could remember, I have been trying to interest my children in saying the night prayer together. Joy, would remain quiet, and Jay has slowly followed my words and later could independently say prayers of Thanksgiving in Chinese. When he was almost 3 years old, I would say my version of prayer in English, after his prayer. He would listen and responded with Amen.

A few months before, he has started asking about God, as I told him to pray to God when he is not feeling well, and God will heal him. He was a bit confused, and I found out that he thought God is only for his big sister, as I was always praying for deliverance from powers that binds and limiting her from reaching her milestones. As he slowly learns that God will take care of everyone, I can see that he is eager to learn more. Just the other day, he asked me, "Where is God?". And he is very interested in listening to Bible stories. He has also learnt to love me singing The Lord's Prayer. He would sometimes request me to sing the hymn again and again as he sleeps. (previously, he would tell me to stop). 

Joy, on the other hand seems more accepting to the hymn now. (she would usually cry when I sang it when she was much younger) Though I could not expect to hear her saying Amen now, I am confident that she would one day be able to say her prayers independently. She is always around when I read aloud, stories from the Bible and I am confident that she is absorbing in her own way.

All these warms my heart. When I got married, my greatest hope was to raise a family with Love, Faith and Hope in God. Hubby and I prayed the Rosary everyday, from the day we knew I was pregnant with my eldest, right to the moment I gave birth. I held my Rosary while going through the contractions, and left it beside my bed when it's time to push. Hubby actually went down on his knees outside the door, with the Rosary. Everyday after her birth, I read the Bible to her, and said my prayers aloud, for her. Hubby and I say our morning and night prayers aloud, and we responded with Amen, (in our determination to set an example for them)

As I mentioned before, I have not been an avid church goer, but I do believe in the saying "A family that prays together, stays together." This was taught by my catechism teachers when I was in school. See, I did not forget. Anyway, our faith wavered for a period of time as we encountered difficulties in handling Joy. That was pre-diagnosis days. When we got her diagnosis, hubby and I held closer together, as we are determined to face the diagnosis as an united front. The roller coaster year is also a year where we found our place and slowly build our faith back from scratches. We picked up the bits and pieces of faith and hope and love in God and I am grateful the God has not left us during those times. All these reminded me of the poem "Footprints in the sand", which I have loved since school days.

There will always be so much to learn about the Almighty God. I am praying for wisdom to be able to teach my children to grow in His ways, as I too, continue to learn about His greatness.