"Prayer is establishing contact with God," wrote Nicaraguan priest Ernesto Cardenal. "We can turn everything we do into a prayer." That is the premise of this gentle book for three to six year olds, rooted in daily activities and emotions familiar to children.
One called "Be with Me Today" shows a diverse group of children boarding a bus, with this short prayer:
God, please be with me today
as I grow and learn and play.
Help me to know you are with me
each and every day.
Prayers for times of day include Morning, Mealtime, Bath Time, Seasons, and Bedtime. Some prayers focus on events: Welcome Baby, Lost Tooth, Birthday, and New Pet. Prayers also explore and soothe a child's feelings, from Fear and Upset to Joy and Peace. There are 21 prayers in all, each ten lines or less.
Traci Smith, the book's author and an ordained minister, has kept the language open and inclusive, fitting any child regardless of their family's faith tradition. She encourages people to add to the prayers or make up their own, using these models as "a sort of canvas for you to paint as you wish." For another sample of her comforting prayers, please see the prayer on "Difficult News."
