"It's in the Details"

In my patriarchal blessing there is advice about how I should pray.  Paraphrasing, I am counseled to tell Heavenly Father all the things I would tell my earthly father, and more.  Basically I should talk openly with Him.  Talk to Him in detail about my day, about my feelings, about my life.  All the details – just like I would with my dad.  I like talking to my dad.  I can tell he cares about me.  He enjoys hearing about what is going on with my kids, what songs I’ve been working on, how work is going for Tim, etc.

A few years ago, my nephew spent the day with us.  We were about to have breakfast and I asked five-year old Seth to bless the food.  He happily agreed.  I was surprised as I listened to his prayer. 

“Dear Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for this day.  We thank Thee for our blessings.  We thank Thee for this food.  We are having toast, eggs and bacon.”  And then he ended the prayer.

I have thanked Heavenly Father countless times for the food I was about to eat – but I have never told Him what it was!  Of course, He could just peek down from Heaven and see the spread, but how wonderful it must have been when Seth just told Him!

Thinking about the advice in my blessing, I am certain that Heavenly Father would love it if I took the time to share more of the details.   Maybe instead of just thanking Him for a good day, I could tell Him why I’m thankful.  I could express how good it felt to make progress on the laundry and how nice it is to have a washer and dryer to do most of the work.  (I’m still holding out hope that someone will invent a machine that folds the clothes…but I probably don’t need to mention that.)  I could tell Him that we felt the Spirit during Family Home Evening or that the kids got along well today increasing the love in our home.  Maybe I could tell him about an uplifting book I read and how it made me feel.

The fact of the matter is, we can tell Him anything.  What’s more, He’ll care about it.  Just like I love it when I ask one of my daughter’s about their day and instead of saying “It was good,” they launch into a description of everything they experienced.  That kind of communication keeps us connected.  It brings us closer to each other.  That kind of communication with Heavenly Father will keep us connected and close to Him.

So, don’t forget to share the details.