A Toddler’s Wake-up Calls and Persistence in Prayer

“Mooooommmmy! MOM-MY!” My typical day starts with the high pitched voice of my two year old, yelling for me from her crib. Most of the mornings of my life haven’t begun this way. My oldest is about to turn five, and before she was born my mornings all started the same – with silence. Maybe someone was asking me to wake up, but no one with the sheer tirelessness of my daughter. “MOOOOOOMMMM-MEEEEE!”

Some mornings, the sound of her little voice makes me smile, and I eagerly roll out of bed to retrieve her and snuggle her in my arms. That is not the case every morning, however. Recently, I went on a business trip to Phoenix to present for the diocese’s disabilities day, and, for the first time in all my years of parenting, I spent a night away from both of my children. I had forgotten how quiet mornings could be! Needless to say, my first morning home was a jolt back to reality – the reality of the persistence of children.

The other day, the daily Gospel was the one in which Jesus encourages persistence in prayer. He tells the parable of the man who persists in knocking at the door for bread, even though it is long past bedtime and the homeowner and his family are sound asleep. Jesus says that if the man does not get up and give over some bread “because of their friendship” he will at least do it because of the man’s persistence. The rest of the Gospel beautifully explains how God will care for us always, for even we – weak and sinful humans that we are – know how to give to our children whatever is good.

This parable immediately called to mind my early morning wake-up calls. Incidentally, Jesus tells us we must have “faith like a child,” but this persistence was not a characteristic that I had previously considered to be holy. Persisting in the face of hardship? Yes. Persisting in the face of challenges that threaten to discourage us? Yes. But this particular brand of persistence struck me as more of a nuisance that anything else. I know how annoying it is to have a toddler make demands on repeat, “Up? Up? Up? Please!” “Down? Down? Down!” I think that a part of me assumed that this wasn’t a particular devout way to go about praying. If I was persistent in prayer, I fancied myself to be doing so in a saintly, quiet way.

But that isn’t the reality of my prayer life, and that certainly isn’t what Jesus was asking for. He asks us to persist in prayer, trusting that the heavenly Father will provide us with what is good. He never says a word about doing so calmly and quietly. He wants us to persist in prayer the way that my toddler persists in her requests – with total trust that we will be heard and lovingly cared for.

Sometimes, I find myself so concerned about “annoying” God that I avoid praying about certain things. Then, I find myself like the man in the parable – desperately in need and having no choice but to beg for what I need. Needless to say, God is willing to respond long before I reach that point. I need only trust in his providence enough to bring my needs to him in prayer – not worrying about annoying him. For God, in his love, is far from annoyed with my requests. God is a far more patient parent than I am.

So, that little voice, calling my name at 6:00 a.m. every morning is more than just a literal wake-up call – it is a reminder to tirelessly bring to God all of my needs.

Michele Chronister

Michele Chronister

Michele Chronister is a theologian (married to a theologian), mother to two little girls, and freelance writer on the side. She is received her BA and MA in theology from the University of Notre Dame (’09 and ’11) but her favorite way to use her degrees is answering her preschooler’s questions about faith at bedtime. She is the author of Handbook for Adaptive Catechesis and the co-author of Faith Beginnings – Family Nurturing from Birth Through Preschool (both published through Ligouri publications). She has also contributed articles to Catholic Digest and Catechetical Leader, and is a member of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability’s Council on Intellectual and Development Disabilities. When he oldest was a baby, she realized that their family life had taken on a sort of monastic rhythm – eat, pray, play, sleep. Prompted by this, she started the blog My Domestic Monastery (www.mydomesticmonastery.com), where she shares inspiration for families wanting to grow in holiness.

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