Five-year-old pens children’s prayer book

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.” Psalm 127:3.

It started out with little Kennedy Sewell showing an interest in becoming an author after meeting one at her school and later learning that her mother had also written a book.

But what her mother Tashana White thought was just childlike enthusiasm later blossomed into a gift of prayers her daughter created for other children to learn.

“I picked her up from school one day and she was excited ... . She said she wanted to write a prayer book to help children learn to pray,” White said

The trained teacher from the parish of Manchester, who now resides in Atlanta, Georgia, USA said, though she knew her daughter, who was tested as ‘gifted’, was reading above her age level and excelling academically, could do it, she didn’t know she was serious until she kept requesting a start date to write her book.

“ On the 7th of April, we sat down and we started writing the book. Kennedy wrote every prayer in that book. I told her, in order to make it meaningful , she had to pray the prayers because they were not poems.”

Insisting that she not only created the prayers but also typed them on her computer, White said her daughter came up with all seven prayers and completed typing in two months.

“She typed her two words per minute and, except for some of the words she couldn’t spell and the punctuation that I helped her with, she spent 30 minutes per day to get it done,” the proud mother shared.

From morning prayers to prayers for school, health, family and friends, little Kennedy was able to apply the teachings instiled in her by a mother who taught her how to pray.

“When I taught her how to pray, I used to tell her to not start her prayer by asking God for stuff but to remember to thank Him first and then put in your request. And, if you look at the prayers, you will see that she starts by thanking God.”

Happy to have accomplished such a goal, though she has not yet realised the magnitude of her efforts, Kennedy said she wants every child to learn from her book.

“I want every child to learn to pray and to know that they can do anything that they want,”Kennedy said.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER

With her favourites being her school, morning and night prayers, the young author is encouraging children to remember the importance of praying.

“If there is something you want to do and you don’t talk to God about it , then you’re not going to be able to do it,” the young author advised.

Having had a firm upbringing in the church and a mother who made morning devotions mandatory, White said she is happy that her daughter knows how to communicate with God.

Proud of her daughter’s success, White said she is looking forward to watching her daughter blossom, and is supporting her endeavours.

“My mother is very happy, she was ecstatic when Kennedy told her about the book. People are excited about the book and they are supporting her. It’s available on Amazon and people have been contacting me to make purchases.”