Two Little Cherubs

Yesterday evening, a member of our church congregation informed me that they drove by my house while 2 of my "cherubs" were standing on the hood of our van trying to fish onto the roof of the house!! (Tyson and Mariah being those "cherubs")

The day before that, I caught Tyson being a little too creative with Jayden, Jayden's toy car he rides in, a long strap, and a bike... need I say more?

The older my boys get, the more creative their "ideas" have become... which scares me to say the least.  I allow my children to express their independence and creativity, but I also work double-time trying to balance that out with safety!!

As I tucked my little Mariah into bed last night, she looked up at me and said, "Jesus feels my pain."

I told her she was right and asked her how she knew that.

Mariah responded, "During scripture study with Tyson.  He said that Jesus feels all my pain- like if I burn my finger on the stove- he feels that pain too."

With my heart swelling with love that my dear children were teaching each other so well, I quietly walked to Tyson's room and asked him if he had scripture study with Mariah earlier that day.

He gave the absolute sweetest smile and said, "Oh yeah...  While we were on the trampoline I was reading to her in Alma (of the Book of Mormon) about Jesus's sacrifice.  I told her Jesus suffered for all of our pains.  Then Mariah asked if he even suffered for the pain on her knee.  (She had fallen off her bike earlier that day.)  I told her HE even felt the pain on her knee."

My heart swelled, and I wrapped my arms around Tyson as tight as I could and thanked him for teaching his sister so well.

In light of Tyson's other rambunctious ideas, I was overjoyed to know he had carried out such a deeply spiritual idea as well.  Because their relationship was so sincere, Mariah listened closely to the message of Jesus that Tyson wanted to teach her.

One of my greatest prayers is for my children to be forever friends and always spiritually minded.  I spend most of my days listening to the tones my children speak to each other, and I try hard to halt any rough talk to each other in the moment it takes place.  It is definitely tiring sometimes, but I'm grateful that God allowed me to see that it is all worth it.

God gave me a beautiful tender mercy to know that my efforts for peace and spirituality are not in vain.  Moreover, none of our efforts are in vain when God is by our side magnifying those efforts.