The Prayer Chair

This chair was my pumping chair for 14 months.

This chair was there for me when I would cry through the middle of the night pumping sessions for my very sick newborn baby.

This chair listened in on phone conversations I had with NICU nurses while I pumped (and the nurses wondered what in the world was that freight train sound on the other end???).

This chair was so cozy that I often fell asleep while pumping.

This chair never got mad at me for spilling milk on it when I fell asleep while pumping.

This chair hosted some pretty awesome blogging and Pinterest sessions while I pumped (I seriously don’t think I would have EVER pumped as long as I did without you and Pinterest).

Usually when the Happy Buddy woke up in the morning, I’d be in this chair, pumping away.

So naturally, this chair became known as Mommy’s Pumping Chair.

But ever since I stopped pumping, I have been calling to mind a story the Happy Hubby told me about the mom of a friend of his.

When asked what was the thing he will remember most about his mother, my husband’s friend responded with, “The green chair.”

Well everyone was intrigued and wanted to know more about this green chair.

So he said, ‘Every morning before the rest of us got out of bed, my mom would be in that green chair spending time with God.  When I was off at college and would wake up early for an important exam or with something on my mind, I loved knowing that my mom was at home, sitting in her chair, praying for me.  To this day, I know where my mom is and what she is doing each morning and it gives me peace.”

When I buried my pump, I took a good look at the chair you see above and I decided that I didn’t want it to be known as Mommy’s Pumping Chair anymore (or Mommy’s Pinterest Chair, for that matter – ha!).

I wanted it to be known as Mommy’s Prayer Chair.

It is interesting how my ‘quiet times’ with God have evolved over my life so far.  As I walk through different seasons, the act of setting aside a pocket of time to meet with the Lord has gotten increasingly difficult, and the intensity of how much I need this time with Him has increased as well.  Because the more people He adds to my Happy Home, the more I need His wisdom, direction, joy, peace, PATIENCE, etc.

When I was young and single it was so easy to make time to do my devotions.  I simply got up to my alarm every morning and *bing* went straight to the Word.  I fell asleep at night prayer journaling.

Then I got married (we were still in college) and I had to adjust to the fact that I was no longer alone in my bed (lights off, please!) and my morning routine expanded to serve another person.

So I’d pray while exercising at our college gym and then read God’s Word in between classes outside on a bench.

And then I had kids and holy smokes what in the world is a ‘quiet’ time?!?!

Nothing is EVER quiet in this house unless someone is on Nyquil.

With babies, between being up all night and feedings and laundry and diapers and teething and scheduling, etc., etc., if I ever sat down to be with the Lord, I usually ended up asleep.

And pray while exercising?  Psh.  What new mom has time for excercising?  I think if I ever came across an elliptical machine I just tried to figure out how to take a nap on it.

So I would pray while the Happy Buddy nursed or out loud on a stroll around the neighborhood and I would post Bible verses on the fridge and on bathroom mirrors to point me back to Him.  I’d put worship music on whenever I could.

And those little things helped me survive.

But now both my babies are sleeping through the night (hallelujah!) and wake up at relatively the same time each day (thank you, Pinterest, for THIS IDEA), so we are in a season where I can set my alarm for 30 minutes before that and pay a visit to my new prayer chair.

Now I know that this is a topic that kind of makes us bristle because we all love our sleep, right?  And if I can be completely honest here, I have been guilty of hitting my snooze button one too many times this week!

But the whole point of the quiet time is to know Him more and be filled with Him more so that the people in our world can know Him more and be filled with Him more.

What a terrific foundation for the life of a mom!

Oh, how we need His presence to help us through these crazy days of sibling quarrels and temper tantrums and homework and runny noses and dirty houses and disciplining and never-ending bedtime routines.

Time with Him changes our perspective and instead of waking up to our kids, we are waking up for them.

We are more patient and more gentle and more trusting for whatever comes our way when we are filled up with the presence of Jesus.

That is the gift I want to give my children.

And when the Happy Buddy comes out of his room in the morning and sees what I am doing, I hope he will have a snapshot in his mind of his mommy, storming the gates of heaven on his behalf, in this chair.

“My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up.” Psalm 5:3