Netanel came home from school and excitedly showed me a piece of paper he had worked on in school. Written on the paper, in bright pink marker were the words "I love my parents".
I know that he loves us, we are a very open family and we show our affection toward each other quite easily. But this paper was more than that - it was a labor of love. Netanel is in kindergarten, and the number of words he can spell on his own right now I can count on one hand (For the record: the, zoo, and, Leah and Netanel). That meant he had to ask his teacher to write it out, and he copied it.
Not once.
Not twice.
He had written "I love my parents" all over the paper.
As I look at the paper, it occurred to me that prayer is much the same. We may be copying something that existed before but it is up to us to utilize those prayers; to decide how often and determine how much time and effort we will put into them.
Of course G-d knows we love him, and he loves us unconditionally. He doesn't need us to tell him how much he means to us. So who benefits from prayer? Who befitted from that piece of paper?
When I saw what Netanel had worked so hard on, I gave him a smile and a hug. His face lit up by my reaction, and proceeded to tell me about his work in detail. While I appreciated his effort, he most certainly benefited from it.
It is the same with prayer. HaShem appreciates the time and effort we put in, but we are the true recipients of prayer's benefits. It brings a sense of closeness with G-d, give us a sense of accomplishment, and allows step out of our comfort zone-and to grow with the experience.
As Netanel skipped away, thrilled at my reaction, I thought to myself "ok, what does he want now?" Does HaShem feel the same way about us??
:-)
RMS
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1 comment:
awesome!
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