the prayers of a child

Jackson picked up "prayer" pretty early on in his first year of life. He bows his head, puts his hands together, closes his eyes, says Amen, and usually doesn't eat food during the prayer. Until recently, it has been just mommy and daddy saying the prayers. I decided to teach him a prayer - it's a variation of one used by Boz (one of Jackson's favorite characters). Jackson surprised me last week by saying the whole prayer all by himself..."Tank you Gawd, for dis day. For my family and friends. Tank you for JESUS [he says Jesus with as much emphasis as any old-timey gospel preacher]. A-men". Let me just say that I cried so hard the first time he did this. Beautiful. It makes me think about all the ways that parents can lay foundations of faith even from a very early age.