Being a mother is a very
humbling job. One, because I am given
the responsibility to raise God’s spirit children. And two, because somehow parenting makes my
impatience and imperfections seem so glaring.
I really believe my
children were given to me so I can learn from them, and for the purpose of
perfecting myself. It sure is a good thing they come young... hopefully
by the time they're grown, I will be full of the qualities I wish to have, and
they will have forgotten all the mistakes I made as a young mother.
There was one day this
week when everything seemed to go wrong from the very start.
- First, I had stayed up too late the night before. I woke up an hour earlier than my alarm was set for and though I knew I would need that sleep, I couldn't fall back into it.
- So, trying to get a head start on my errands for the day, I tried to place an online order, but no matter how many times I pushed the “Place Order” button, or refreshed the page to try again, it wouldn't go through.
- After my kids climbed down the stairs, bed-headed and still in pajamas, in my distracted state, I never noticed the cereal box go missing. Half the box ended up spilled across the living room floor.
- I handed them a bowl to scoop the spilled cereal into and I put the once full, now half-empty box away. They brought the bowl filled with cereal into the kitchen, and it accidentally spilled again under the kitchen table.
- We were running late already.
In the car, on my way to
drop B off at Joy School, I said "Sorry B...Mom hasn't been very nice
today, and I'm sorry. I'll be nicer when I pick you up."
… "It's okay
mom, I love you!"
I asked him to say a
prayer for us. He talked to Heavenly Father about the cool spider he saw
that morning, and said he was sorry he took too long to find his shoes so that
we were late, and he prayed his teacher wouldn't be mad...
His simple, little
prayer helped change my attitude toward the day.
His prayer helped remind
me of what is most important—and reminded me that more than anything I need
God’s help in raising my children. I could
feel how much God loves my kids, and I was filled with his pure love for them.
I realized the things I had been upset about that morning didn't even matter.
Church Apostle Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, “You can’t possibly do this alone, but you do have help. The Master of Heaven and Earth is there to bless you…
Rely on Him. Rely on Him heavily. Rely on Him forever. And “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope.” You are doing God’s work. You are doing it wonderfully well. He is blessing you and He will bless you, even—no, especially—when your days and your nights may be the most challenging.”
I needed that prayer my
three-year-old gave that day. I still
had a full day of errands ahead of me, and ‘Lil M did her best to wear me
out. I am grateful for God’s love and
enabling power, especially for me as a mother.
"If you try your best to be the best parent you can be, you
will have done all that a human being can do and all that God expects you to
do.”
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