A Teaching Moment On the Way to Church

I've been doing a lot of writing and thinking on a variety of projects lately, and I thought perhaps I could use the things I'm already doing as material for my blog...in case anyone is interested.

This post is in response to an email I got from my friends John and Lani Hilton. They're speaking at the Sperry Symposium at BYU on Halloween about Motherhood and the Old Testament, and they asked me if I had any experiences to go along with their presentation. Here's what I sent them:


Regarding the Heavy Workloads of Old Testament Women, workloads are equally heavy today. Though we have so many conveniences, our lives have become so much more complicated--we want our homes to look like the Pottery Barn catalog, we sign our children up for hours of extracurriculars, we become "busy" with so many things that weren't even an option back then--it might do us well to think of the counsel in Deut.12: 32, "What thing soever I command you, observe to do it; thou shalt not add there to, nor diminish from it."

We don't need to complicate our lives. The women in the Old Testament teach us what is MOST important--Deut. 6:7 is a great guide:

"And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up..."

This scripture most certainly did not only apply to the men because who is the parent most likely to be there when the children are in and around the home? I had an experience with this one Sunday as I was driving my children to church.

My husband had gone to early meetings, so I had spent the morning feeding, dressing, and preparing "quiet" bags for my four young children. As I loaded everyone into our van, I felt completely frazzled by our morning's activities...the unexpected last-minute diaper change, the disappearing church socks I was sure I had laid out, the squabbling between a couple of my children, and the numerous spills we had experienced at breakfast time.

As we started our ten-minute drive to the chapel, I knew I needed to invite the Spirit to help us prepare for Sacrament Meeting, so I started talking to the children about why going to church was so important to me. I testified of our Savior's life, of His atonement, and His great love for us.

My children started asking questions. One child said, "What do the scriptures mean when they say He bled from every pore?" Another child asked why the bread represents the body of the Lord. I answered their questions as well as I could, and as I spoke, we all felt a powerful, beautiful spirit enter our minivan.

By the time we arrived at the chapel, my children were quiet and settled, and we were ready to participate in the sacred ordinance of the sacrament. I knew at that moment that my work as a mother--teaching my children diligently, even when things were hard--was of the utmost importance to the Lord.

Sweetness

A few years ago, I wanted to roll my eyes whenver someone told me to "enjoy these years because they will go by so quickly." But now, I'm really glad I've received that advice...over and over and over. I think I am finally learning to do it.

Of course, not every day is great. Ethan was whining because "ALIA SAYS I HAVE GIRL NAILS!" Spencer is into absolutely everything--he repeatedly empties every drawer and cupboard (because we haven't installed child locks again). The girls bicker on and off throughout each day and come to me to solve it, and I get tired sometimes and just want to hide in my room with a good book.

But there is this sweetness that permeates everything. Yesterday, Grace and Ethan played library. They put books all over the front room and made "libery" cards (pictured below). It's sweet to see little papers and pencils and toys all stacked up around the house after the children are asleep and the house is quiet.



Our one-year-old Spence is more energetic than Eric and I put together. While I was doing laundry today, he climbed right up on the door to the dryer and took everything out for me...and put it on the floor.

But still, there is a sweetness about that, is there not? I am trying to learn to see things for how they really are. Yes, Spencer's "help" requires more work on my part, and yes, I'm a little nervous that the dryer door is going to pop right off and I'll have to get a brand new dryer (but wait, would that be so bad? My washer and dryer are getting a little old. Hmmmmm.)

It is the process of learning to breathe and enjoy these years that is so hard, but it's possible. I'm not good at it every day, but I'm learning. One day when I was pregnant with Spencer, the other children were wreaking havoc on the house. I was jumping from mess to mess, and when I walked into the downstairs bathroom and found toys and toilet paper everywhere, I groaned, "My CHIL-dren!!!" Ethan was sitting there watching me react, and without missing a beat, he asked, "We are so sweet?"

I paused for a minute, looked at his hopeful smile, thought about his question, and then replied softly, "Yes, you are so sweet." He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "OH, I thought you were going to say we are NOT so sweet." That made me laugh. I gave him a hug, and we cleaned up the mess together.

Children are sweet. They're trouble, and they're a lot of work, but I wouldn't trade them for anything.