The Power of Prayer

I have been teaching Jacob how to pray during difficult situations. It is not an easy task. I am quite private about my prayer life and I do not often pray with others outside of communal events. Other than the occasional "You are in my prayers," it's just not a topic of conversation. My prayer coaching for Jake has consisted of reminders and examples. "Oh, you're feeling frightened! Well, you could pray about that." or my favorite, "You seem to be having a hard time controlling yourself. Maybe you'd better ask God for some help." The latter is rarely well-received but it does serve as a reminder to me to ask for a little help! Last night, in the most unexpected way, Jacob showed me that my little lessons have been slowly taking a foothold in that stubborn little brain of his.

I was assembling the ingredients for pancakes when I heard Jake hollering at me from the bathroom. "Heeeeeeeeeeeelp meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! It huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurts!" Having been Jake's mother for all of six years now, I knew the problem in an instant. Jacob has a little trouble relaxing in unfamiliar bathrooms. So any time he changes environments, we have to live through a little adjustment period while Jake familiarizes himself with the new bathroom. We all know what relaxation issues lead to and we all know that it's uncomfortable. Once we get to that point, there's not much for me to do assistance-wise beyond some hand-holding and cheer-leading. After about 10 minutes of excruciating waiting, Jake asked the big question. "Mom, do you think God can help me poop?"