PARENTING
Life as a parent is full of ups and downs. We have all the beautiful moments of hugs, kisses, smiles and holding little hands, littered with moments of quarreling, kicking and screaming. It has the ability to discourage even the best of men and woman. Each evening we resolve with our Father in Heaven to be better the next day: to get angry less, to have more patience, to be more understanding and to enjoy the small moments better. And yet time and time again we wake up all night with the crying babies and by morning are so tired and emotionally shot that our best intentions easily go out the window. Only for another night on our knees pleading for forgiveness and resolving again to be better the next day.
We often ask ourselves if our efforts are worth it? Is the scripture study with the children not listening really doing any good? Is prayer really worth it when we have to practically plead and threaten just to get them to fold their arms and be quiet? Is anyone getting anything out of sacrament meeting when the chaos makes the speaker sound like a distant noise that is no longer discernable? What are they getting out of Family-Home-Evening when it is often just a fight that ends with a prayer? These questions often plague our minds as we struggle through this experience of parenthood.
The answer to these questions is a resounding Yes! Yes, all of our efforts are worth it! Yes, we are good parents even if our day-to-day efforts don’t seem to yield a large reward! Yes, small and simple things really do bring about great things! While the journey may be tough we cannot give up or slacken our pace as we strive to teach our children about the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is truly the greatest gift we can give them.
So now the question is, Why? Why is it is important to teach our children about Jesus Christ? One of my favorite scriptures is:
“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”
When I first became a parent I became obsessed with the idea that if I did everything right my kids would never sin. I wanted to create a bubble around them to keep them safe. One day while reading this scripture found in 2 Nephi 25:26 a realization hit me. They are going to sin. They are going to fall short and make mistakes. The question is, did I teach them enough about their Savior and Redeemer that they know to turn to Him? Do they know that He can save them? Do they know that He loves them unconditionally? Do they know that through Him they can overcome any challenge and trial that comes their way? The truth is they can only know these things if we teach it to them. So why do we hold Family Home Evening, go to church, read our scriptures and pray with our children when it is so hard and they don’t seem to care? As this scripture states, we talk and preach of Christ and do all these other things so that in that moment of storm and temptation they know to whom they can turn for a remission of their sins. Ultimately we want them to know Him personally and understand His redeeming power.
Being a parent can be tough but it is also beautiful and rewarding. We have such a small window of an opportunity to teach our children the truths of eternity. Let us resolve not to get discouraged in the mundane moments. Let us remember that our efforts are always worth it. As President Hinckley said, let us “try a little harder to be a little better.”
~ Debbie
Thank you Debbie, awesome thoughts. It reminds me of the story of Alma the younger. When he was in the deepest darkest moments of his life, finally he remembered the teachings of his father. It was in there and it finally came back to his recollection.
I loved this post! Thank you Debbie!!