Little Prayers for Ordinary Days
When I think back on my early years of life, what I remember most are the everyday rhythms. How our lunchtime sandwiches were sliced on the diagonal, what the plastic feet of our footie pajamas felt like, the sound of my grandparents’ dog walking across the kitchen linoleum. It’s the little stuff of everyday life that really sticks by someone. I never questioned slicing my sandwiches on the diagonal until my husband told me he preferred his cut down the middle. Is there a good reason to slice a sandwich a certain way? Probably, if you need to fit things in a sandwich box like tangram pieces, but if you’re just using a plate, there’s no need to differentiate. It doesn’t taste any differently, it doesn’t stay together any differently. But my day in, day out routine was a sandwich sliced diagonally. I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise to me that my older set of children automatically begin any family prayer time with the song we used for family prayers when they were wee ones. Ordinary days produce everyday rhythms that become daily liturgies. This is why Little Prayers for Ordinary Days Katy Bowser Hutson, Flo Paris Oakes, and Tish Harrison Warren is a gem that belongs in the hands, on the coffee tables, and in the vehicles of families everywhere. Little everyday prayers add up to a lifetime of meaning and identity.
Little Prayers for Ordinary Days is a compact, square shaped book that fits perfectly into little hands. It’s the perfect size to pop into your bag or slide into the middle of the kitchen table so you can easily access it. It’s easy to hold one handed so you can cuddle one kid on your side and one on your lap while you maintain a good grip on the book. The illustrations are representative and beautifully created in soft colors with deep, dark ink, making it easy for my vision impaired and color blind kid to see. There are 27 prayers, all written in everyday language and in short prose. Children and adults will appreciate these prayers, written especially for times when we need to eat a food we don’t like, for when we take bath, for when we wake up, and even for when we look in a mirror. The everyday events are not overlooked, but rather claimed and celebrated as part of God’s good creation. They invite God into the midst of our messy lives and help us to remember that God is there, loving us and helping us even when we have broken something or done something we shouldn’t have done.
I could list all of the ordinary ways to use this resource. I would include new member gifts, baptism gifts, new baby gifts, a resource for families whose children are not receiving Bibles on Bible Sunday, in your library, etc. Honestly, I’m more excited about using this resource in non ordinary ways, even though this is meant for ordinary days. These prayers are perfect to spur good conversation in parenting groups. They are also perfect for conversations in children’s moments during worship, except I would flip the script and let the kids tell you why these prayers are important. Have them critique them. Have them tell you where they would use them and how. I would get a kid advisory committee going and have them pull out prayers to highlight. I would have them use them to inspire a series of prayer charms they make to put on their backpacks and their parents’ keychains. (Use shrinky dink paper. Works incredibly well.) When you give a copy of this to families with new babies, I would take a prayer from it, print it on labels, and attach them to baby wipes package. I would do the same for kids heading back to school, but attach the sticker to packs of granola bars. There are so many potential uses for this little book. Don’t miss it.
