Hibiscus's Five-finger Prayer

I tried a new prayer with the older children tonight, to try and help them become more involved in their prayer time.  Emerson wasn't sure of what to say, so we talked together but I said the words.  Hibiscus dived right into the prayer and said it all on her own.  I wasn't sure that she would understand the abstract concepts, but she figured them out in such a meaningful way.

We held up our hands with all five fingers.

The thumb is for the people closest to you.

Hibiscus started with our next-door neighbors, and with a suggestion of family members, went through an impressively wide list of family, given that she has yet to meet most of them

The index finger is for your teachers.

Hibiscus was upset that she couldn't remember her teachers' names.  I gave the names of her classroom teachers, but I didn't know all the others yet.  I suggested that if she thought about them, God would know who she means.

The middle finger is for the leaders and powerful people.

Hibiscus wasn't sure where to start with this.  We had talked earlier that day about the judge, whose ruling we all needed to follow about where Hibiscus was going to live now, so she prayed for the judge.  Then she added "the pilots who fly the plane, because they work very hard.  And the people who serve us food on the plane, because they work very hard too."

The ring finger is for the people who are weak.

"Like old people?" she asked.  I said weak like that, or people who don't have power.  She jumped right in: "God, please bless my Bbunga family.  And please bless all the people around there, um, I don't know their names, all the people like that.  All the poor people.  And help them know what to do, and know all the things they can do, and how to do it."

(I thought it was interesting that she already instinctually knew that poverty is related to a lack of knowledge and understanding about what to do and how to change the situation; at least the type of poverty that she had lived.)

The pinky finger is for ourselves.

"God, please bless me.  And help me not to run into the streets.  And help me to not do things that make my mama mad at me."


Goodnight.