The Saturday morning conference session started out like most other conferences sessions do: with the kids running around, interrupting, demanding this and that, while Brad and I kept shushing, entertaining, and sending kids to their room.
And then Elder Bednar spoke about love within families. So we all snuggled up together and hugged while listening to his talk. It felt good.
Then the choir sang not just a Primary Song, but a favorite that is often a Lullaby: My Heavenly Father Loves Me. We all sang along. I felt the Spirit. So following the admonition we had received earlier to identify the Spirit, I told Ty how I was feeling the Spirit during that song, and how I know that Heavenly Father loves him.
The Spirit truly was present because during Pres. Uchdorf's talk, Ty was all ears. No squirming, no hyperactivity, no demands. He was really listening. Listening to an Apostle testify about the attributes of God and His love for us.
That's when Ty, very quietly, told us, "I feel the Spirit saying that He loves me."
That was a great moment. Because out of all the important truths and skills I need to teach our children--from how to read to how to rebound, I believe the two most important are
1. To know that God loves them and has a plan for their future, and
2. To learn how to recognize and follow the promptings of the Spirit.
I was blessed to have parents that taught me early on how to listen to the Spirit, and to know that I was a Child of God. That knowledge has affected everything in my life. It has lifted me in hard times, given me peace and comfort, and helped me help others. If a person truly knows that God loves them and if they really know how to interpret and follow the Spirit, there is no problem that they can't get through.
So maybe I don't need to be so hard on myself the next time I get frustrated with my kids, or when my laundry doesn't get folded, or I put myself in a self-induced timeout. Like Elder Bednar said, it's consistency that matters.
And that one moment today let me know that we're on the right track.
Thanks for sharing, Sal. What a neat experience. I loved Elder Bednar's talk, too.
ReplyDeleteThat is so sweet. What a great experience your family had. Tell Ty I love him too!
ReplyDeleteGreat experience Sal. It was a great conference weekend, though we had all the cousins( 14 in all) running around, so it was really hard to tune in. Thank goodness for the Ensign! What a sweet little guy you have and his Momma is pretty sweet too.
ReplyDeleteAw, that was wonderful. Thankfully but unfortunately Elder Bednar's was the only Sat. talk I was able to catch. It was absolutely perfect wasn't it. Ty is such a good kid because you guys are such great parents. Keep it up.
ReplyDelete