A Lesson for Me (that you can read, too)

Yesterday was a pretty decent Sabbath Day. That is a rare way for me to describe a Sunday anymore. It's pretty common for me to spend the entire day away from my family, and I end up stretched really thin emotionally by the end of it. But yesterday I was able to juggle three hours of church, two hours of ward council, and an hour and a half of missionary appointments without losing my mind or getting, what I call, a "primary headache" (which is a very unique head pain that I only experience after primary).

After dropping the missionaries off, I headed to the stake center to see if I could catch a member of the stake presidency to do my temple recommend interview. I was very lucky to get there at the tail end of the interviews when there were only two people left in line, making me the third and final person waiting for an interview.

I was pleased to meet with the first counselor in the stake presidency, who is such a kind and wonderful man. He wasn't rushed or focused on closing up shop. He didn't get right down to business, but instead, asked me extensively about my family and my church calling. He was genuinely interested in my well-being. I was able to tell him about my kids and what phases they are in right now. I told him about Scotty's career and schooling. We joked about the 11-year-old primary boys and their overabundance of energy and rowdiness.

It was nothing huge, but this conversation made me feel so valued, and it's been a long time since I felt that way. It was just a darn, neat experience.

Before I left, he said to me, "You've been the primary president for a while now, so let me ask you, what do you think families need most right now?"

I had to take a minute to ponder because it was obviously THE most important question I'd ever been asked, and as I thought about the children in our primary and what they are facing right now, the answer that came to mind was:

Parents with testimonies.

I was hesitant to give that answer because I didn't want to sound like I was accusing the parents in my ward of not having testimonies, but there are a lot of children in our primary who are the sole representatives of their families in church each week. These children are amazing, but with that comes a heavy weight. It's not easy to be the sole spiritual strength in your family at such a young age.

We discussed this in a little more detail before I left my interview, and when I got home I asked Scotty how he would answer that question, and, without knowing my answer, he said the same thing.

I've been reading the book What the Scriptures Teach Us About Raising a Child by S. Michael Wilcox, and this morning I came across this passage:

"...the testimony of a parent is a powerful tool for stirring up the faith of children to feel after God. Next to life itself, testimony is the greatest gift parents can give to a child - the sharing of their own faith, beliefs, and confirmations in such a way as to arouse in the mind of the child a desire to receive a testimony in like manner." 

 

As I read that, I recalled what I learned from reading the Book of Mormon, and it served as a gentle reminder that I do, indeed, have a testimony. I believe in a loving Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ. I tell my children these truths often, but perhaps there is more I can do to communicate my testimony to them. I love how when heavenly Father wants to teach us something, and we are willing to learn, He is able to align our conversations and our studies and many other aspects of our lives to lead us to what we need to know. I, too, can guide my children to learning through my own testimony.