I remember praying when I was little. I remember kneeling by my bed and reciting a poem/prayer to God's Guardian Angel, asking him to protect me. I did it with my Nan (I think, but it couldn't have been anyone else, she was the only remotely religious person in my family). I seriously doubt I did it at all when my Nan wasn't around. It was a cute poem, and that was all, really.
That's not the way I want Breadcrumb to pray. I want prayer to have meaning for him.
So every night, after "book" but before "boob", I take his little hands in mine and I pray with him, thanking God for all good that happened that day, saying sorry for all wrongdoing (not that at 5 months old he can do anything wrong really, so we keep it light - biting daddy with his new tooth, grabbing the cat a bit too hard, splurging all over mummy, etc.) and asking for God's protection for friends and family and a good sleep (my SIDS anxiety talking?).
I know he doesn't understand anything of it yet, but I want prayer to be something he's always done, for as long as he can remember - not a sudden new idea, appearing one day out of the blue.
The problem that I have is that I speak Polish to Breadcrumb, and I have a really hard time 'doing' faith in Polish. The me who lived in Polish was not a Christian. The religiousness of my childhood/teens/early twenties smells of keeping up appearances, hypocrisy and extremely conservative Catholicism in its worst edition, the one where a switched off brains are a prerequisite. I read the Bible in Polish and it doesn't speak to me. I start a prayer in Polish and I feel a mohair beret growing on my head. Urgh.
But I persist, hoping that praying with my son will help me take this curse off this beautiful language and that one day I will be able to use it in praise and prayer without feeling awkward and ever so slightly fake...
How did you start praying with your child? If you haven't yet, how do you intend to start? How do you pray together?