Pray for me, Mommy

There are few words more touching to hear from a five year old than, "Pray for me, Mommy."

That's what my little Adria said tonight after complaining about a headache, pain in her side, and being over-tired.

"I had no nap at all today," she had said earlier, explaining why she was so fussy after her potty time. She doesn't nap every day still, but she's always been a good sleeper and usually gets grumpy without some down time.

Indeed, we did have a full day that included going to church, frolicking through a corn maze and pumpkin patch, and baking another apple pie. This left no time for her to nap, though baby sister Johanna does need her afternoon nap, and she squeezed one in on the stroller.

Amidst all the excitement of having fall fun with my parents and little brother along too, I did not do a good job of making sure Adria drank lots of water. She'd had milk and juice, but water is especially critical for her little body to fight off UTIs and she does not drink enough without a great deal of "encouragement." We haven't exactly figured out why, but if she doesn't drink at least 20 oz. of water a day, she tends to have more pain in her tummy and sides, the area of her bladder and kidneys.

There she sat on her changing table tonight crying because her side hurt so bad and asking me to "Take care of it" again (this is what we call catheterizing her). But I just had taken care of it 20 minutes before and knew that if I did again, it would only cause more pain.

I tried to get her to drink, drink, drink. We went ahead and gave her some Advil for the pain.

"Mommy, I need lovin's," she cried as I put on her pajamas. We snuggled up on the couch together watching Daddy's football game. That's when she said it.

"Pray for me, Mommy."

Ah, how it melted my heart. My little girl in pain. At such a young age she already realizes that medicine and "lovin's" only go so far, and with the faith of a child she believes that prayer is what really works. We have prayed over her many times through the years when we could do nothing else for her discomfort.

Minutes later she snuggled into Daddy's lap and quickly fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."  -Matthew 19:14