I’m amazed at how much God teaches me through my children.
Recently, we went to a neighboring town to visit the park. We parked our car, and the boys immediately sprinted down the hill to the playground. As I walked up to where they were, I could hear my oldest son asking names and inviting other kids to play. I sat on a nearby bench soaking in this sweet moment of my son making friends. They ran around for at least an hour playing tag and making up new games. He has such courage and doesn’t even know it!
Aren’t playground rules interesting?
- Have fun.
- Be kind to others.
- Make new friends.
The rules God gives us for our lives aren’t really that different. We can find our greatest commandment in Matthew 22:34-40:
The commandments Jesus gives us are quite simple:
- Love God.
- Love people.
Our most important relationship is with God, as it serves as the foundation for all of our other connections. Our second most important relationship involves connecting with others and loving them as Jesus would.
This day at the park, I saw the children connecting with one other. Small little strangers quickly became new best friends. Meanwhile, parents were sitting on benches at least 10 feet away from one another. My son talked about his new friend from the playground for several weeks, while I walked away with no new relationships. Talk about a convicting realization!
I want to be the type of person to pray for passerbyers. I long to have the courage to make new friends from strangers. My biggest goal everyday is to strive to love God and love others in any and every way that I can. Won’t you pray with me?
Dear Lord,
Thank you for giving me my two sweet boys who I learn from and grow from daily.
I pray that you would help grant me courage - the type of courage my son has on the playground. Courage to go up to a stranger and make a meaningful connection.
Please forgive me for those moments I have been selfishly involved in my own social feeds and have ignored engaging with others. I pray that you would put a prompting in my heart to engage with and pray for those around me in all situations. We live in a world where in-person connections and interactions are getting fewer and fewer. And I pray that I would be more present in the moment to connect with my family, neighbors, townspeople and even (especially!) the parents at the playground.
I’m so grateful for your love and that your mercies are new every morning.
Amen.
Hi, I’m Lisa, the founder of Autumn & Annie. If you’re new here, welcome to One Million Prayers! This is our blog where I share prayers, inspiration, scripture, and a little bit about myself. God has put a passion in my heart to share about the power of prayer with YOU!
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