"Back up again!"

In January, we decided to put Jordan and Tyson into public middle school for 2 music classes each. (They each have one class in the morning and one class in the afternoon.) Jackson still goes to public high school for his drum line.

Since we live several miles away from the schools, our meeting point is at the public library. I stay there with the younger children while the boys ride their bikes back and forth a couple miles each way. (Jackson still rides the 9 miles home after his class.)

For their afternoon music classes, Jordan and Tyson meet up along the way to trade the bike off. Sometimes Tyson leaves the library on foot to meet up with Jordan early.

They ride on sidewalks most of the way, but there is one busy intersection they have to cross that can be very dangerous.

Nine-year old Jordan ran into the library last week with this story:

Jordan could see his brother, Tyson, on the other side of this busy intersection, so he was excited to meet up with him and give him the bike. Jordan anxiously stood on the edge of the sidewalk waiting for the crosswalk to give them the go-ahead.

Their light was about to change when Jordan said the Spirit told him to back up on the sidewalk, away from the street, so he did.

Jordan then said the Spirit told him to back up again even farther up on the sidewalk. He didn't even question the prompting or wrestle with it in his head. He just backed up again.

Then the crosswalk gave them the walk, so he instinctively took several steps forward. He said all of a sudden a car came zooming through the intersection. Jordan said the car was right against the sidewalk where he had been standing.

Jordan yelled for Tyson to stop even though Tyson was not in the same danger that Jordan was in. Jordan was extra grateful that his own few steps forward left him still standing on the sidewalk and not in the street where the car was recklessly driving… little Jordan would have been hit…

When Jordan came to me with this story, he was very clear about who it was who saved him. He did not waiver. He knew the Holy Ghost told him exactly what to do, and he knew that following the prompting saved his life.

I am grateful Jordan listened to the Spirit and followed that prompting BOTH times!!

How often do we hear a prompting and think we have heard the whole thing, so we stop listening or asking with such intensity. How often is the Spirit telling us to "back up again."

What a miracle that Jordan was spared by that driver because of divine intervention.

My Report on Weed-picking

Yesterday was great! I made a conscious effort to smile more (even in my moments of solitude). I also thanked the children more for their good deeds and picked less. At one point it became hard after I had just cleaned the entire kitchen and Mariah got into the food pantry and held the open bag of brown sugar upside down. Brown sugar fell all over the pantry and between cans over several shelves! Mariah was being a bit careless, but it was truly an accident. I bit my tongue hard and just started to clean up with her help. I smiled at her and she said, "Some things are only hard if you look at them and say that they're hard, but when you look at them and say they're easy, then they are easy." That was some pretty sound advice -especially from a 7-year old. :-)

The result:  My children returned the favor! They thanked me profusely for every little thing I did and every place I took them yesterday. I heard less irritable voices amongst them as well. I heard the children congratulate each other more for their small success throughout the day. I will see how this lasts… but I definitely saw what a difference it made yesterday! :-)