That got you reading didn’t it? Sometimes I’m not convinced that my parenting skills are all they should be (maybe I should read more parenting books…)
My girls (who are totally wonderful BTW) are 5 and 8 years old, and they – as all kids have to – are gradually learning the difference between ‘wants and needs’. It’s quite a tricky thing to negotiate because apparently they ‘need’ pretty much anything which has just appeared on a TV advert… and they ‘want’ it too!
I was chatting to a friend recently about our basic human needs and, strangely, we didn’t talk much about TV adverts… We talked about what we thought our needs were. We talked about our need: to be loved, to be understood, to belong, to feel like our lives counted for something.
This week I read this prayer and it resonated:
Lord, I know not what to ask of You.
You alone know what my true needs are.
You love me more than I myself know how to love.
Help me to see my real needs, which may be hidden from me.
I dare not ask for either a cross or a consolation.
I can only wait upon You; my heart is open to You.
Visit and help me in Your steadfast love.
Strike me and heal me; cast me down and raise me up.
I worship in silence Your holy will.
I offer myself to You as a living sacrifice.
I put all my trust in You.
I have no other desire than to fulfil Your will.
Teach me to pray. Pray yourself in me. Amen
Made me think… made me think – and pray – quite a lot.
W
xx
