Sincerity

Every night the Little Linebacker prays for two things.  First, he prays that his Dad will be safe.  He actually ends his prayers asking for his Dad to be safe too.  He makes sure his Dad is double safe.  Spouse-the-Intrepid feels pretty much invincible because of it.  Next he prays that he will be able to watch Spiderman.  He is very sincere.  First thing in the morning, he goes about finding out if that part of his prayer is going to be answered.

Prayer is an interesting thing isn't it?  "Ask and ye shall receive," we've been told.  But you're not always going to receive what you asked for.  But then it doesn't say, "Ask and ye shall receive what you asked for," it just said, "and you shall receive."  "And you shall receive...a big no."  "And you shall receive...a kick in the pants for being ridiculous."  "And ye shall receive...something bigger and better and more awesome than what you asked for in the first place."

Somewhere along the line in my prayer journey, I've gone from expecting what I've asked for in a prayer to happen to waiting for God to just let me know the whole situation's going to be alright.  If I get that I've-got-you-covered-and-you're-going-to-be-alright feeling from above, most of the ants that were dancing in my pants hustle down past my foot to go off to look for fun elsewhere.

And I wonder, does the Little Linebacker ever finish his prayers and settle down for the night and then just have it sprinkle down on him like a mist from heaven that, yes, Mom is going to let him watch a little Spiderman tomorrow, so he can rest easy and calm.

If it doesn't happen to him now, I hope he feels it someday.  His sincerity seems so darned deserving.