Most nights about bedtime, my only sister will announce that she is turning in and say "Good Night."  I will say to her "Say your prayers." She will reply to me "You too."  And I will answer "Always." That's our ritual: Good night. Say your prayers. You too. Always. We say the exact same thing every single night. If she is really tired and really sleepy, Dee might mix up the order, but we eventually get it right and laugh.

It reminds me of the ritual I had with my twin sons when they were toddlers three decades ago. As they settled into their beds, I would say a prayer over them out loud. It was "God please shield and protect Jay and Lee." One night I was so tired that as I tucked them in, I turned to leave their room without saying my normal nightly prayer out loud. As I reached to turn out the light, their little voices said the prayer out loud for me.

It feels good to have a ritual of saying something familiar among loved ones before parting ways. It symbolizes the bond that we have. And it helps to keep that bond strong. Relationships can be hard work. It helps to have little things along the journey to remind us of how much we mean to each other.

Evelyn Dove-Coleman established PathChoice in 1992. She can be reached at http://www.pathchoicepastoralcounselng.weebly.com or EvDove03@yahoo.com.