Literature Travels - Grandad's Prayers of the Earth

Grandad's Prayers of the Earth - Douglas Wood

"Most prayers are not really questions," he said. "And if we listen very closely, a prayer is often its own answer. Like the trees and winds and waters, we pray because we are here--not to change the world, but to change ourselves. Because it is when we change ourselves . . . that the world is changed."

Lately I've been thinking a lot about children's books and the impact that they have on a young reader. Many of the lessons that I learned as a child came as my parents read picture books to me.

I have loved this book since it came out in 1999. It is incredibly special because it teaches without preaching and it uplifts without being unrealistic. Grandad's prayers show our relationship with the world and our relationship with God in simple, sweet terms. And perhaps, more importantly, it takes the focus away from God doing what we ask of Him to our reaching toward God.

The world changes when we change, and there is no greater change than the one affected with the hand of God touching and softening our hearts. By the time that we can hear the prayers of the trees, the winds, and the waters, we have softened and stilled enough to hear the whisperings of the Holy Spirit.

I recommend this book as one to share with your children and to read yourself. It is beautifully illustrated, wonderfully written, and touches my heart each time I open its pages.

Let this book carry you to that far-off place of peace; let it travel with you into nature as you listen for the sound of silent Prayers of the Earth. Let it change you and the course of your journey.