Ask ... Only If You're Prepared

There's a saying ... "Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it."

Wishes, for me, are simply prayers.

So the saying becomes ... "Be careful what you pray for, you might just get it."

Yep. It's true. You gotta be careful what you ask and you gotta be sure you're prepared for it.

For eight years now, I can be found on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings/nights at my church, in the nursery. Okay ... I'll be honest. At first it was simply Wednesday nights and Sunday nights, but the need became great and four years ago we added Sunday mornings.

Since during those first few years, I had everyone 6 years old and younger. Have you ever managed a group of 20 kids ranging in age from 6 yrs to 6 months? Yep. I have. By myself. But that's another story for a different blog. What I'm saying here is that there are very few children in our church who are 14 yrs old or younger that have not come through Miss Cindy's class. That's just fact.

I love all the ages. Truly I do.

I love the "I'm a big kid cause I go to Kindegarten" attitude (most of the time) from the older ones. They seem to become small adults overnight. They fight their battles, they build their block castles, and they love to do anything that involves glue and scissors. They love to be challenged, but they also like it when Miss Cindy puts in a video and calls for a bit of VeggieTale quiet time.

I love the 3 year olds. They try so hard but just can't quite keep up. They get their little engines reving and then either get so wound up that they don't know what to do with themselves or they find a corner and fall asleep from exhaustion. They have yet to figure out dishonesty and so when asked if they did something the answer is truthful. They love to take all the puzzles apart so that Miss Cindy can put them back together.

I love the 1's and 2's for they are learning so fast you can almost see the wheels in their heads spinning faster and faster. Their language is not our language. It is fast, it is incoherent and it makes perfect sense to them ... grown ups are the ones who don't understand. They crave routine and familiarity. And they love to crawl up into Miss Cindy's lap to look at a book or sing a song ... for 60 seconds.

I love the babies. They are the foundation of a nursery, for they are the ones that become the 1's and 2's and 3's and 4's. They are the ones that come into our little nursery world and prove to us the wonder of creation. They crave security and love and they are the ones who tightly wind Miss Cindy around their little fingers in a way that lasts all their lives as we rock and cuddle and rock and sleep.

It's funny how things work out. Four years ago, the need was great and the stability for Sunday morning was necessary, but there was only one baby. And as that baby grew, we did not get more for over a year.

So, I prayed for babies.

I got three. Two in November and one the first of December. Now. I'm good with two - the twins gave me practice at that. Three was a bit of a stretch and there were some days when I simply prayed to survive the hour. However, we managed and we delighted in them and once again my heart was given to these little people who are now fixing to turn 2 yrs old.

Yet it has been since then that we have had babies.

So, I prayed again. This time I got five. Three were born in May and two during the last 3 weeks.

Well. At least they are beginning to space themselves out a bit.

In the meantime, I believe it's time for me to get a bit more specific in these prayers. Obviously praying for babies works. I just need to pray for one baby at a time, every six months or so. Yep. That might work. I can most likely, probably be prepared for it. Maybe.

We just won't go into the jealousy factors with 1's and 2's when Miss Cindy's lap is suddenly occupied by a new baby. Have you ever seen one of those programs with all the monkeys in the trees?

That tree? That's me. The monkeys? They're the ones demanding another chorus of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".

But that's also a story for another blog.