Elder Dallin H. Oaks said that parents should teach their children to define themselves by their growing testimonies. I can say for certain I have done no intentional teaching around this principle. I mean, we try to live the gospel to the best of our ability, but I have never thought of teaching my children that their identities are based on their growing testimonies. I like the idea though!
But it does seem like they have growing testimonies, and I am glad for that. The other day after piano practice (which was admittedly rough), Mary came to us and said, “Can we say a prayer? I am having a tough day.” She then asked God to help her feel better. I was so happy to see that she understood God could do that for her!
We also recently had the electrician come to fix some things. While he was here, the fire alarms were blaring constantly. Mary, who is sensitive to noise, was huddled in the fetal position with her hands over her ears for hours. Lydia, observing Mary’s plight, suggested we have a prayer for the fire alarms to stop. Mary agreed to the idea and participated by bowing her head–with her hands still covering her ears. At the end of the prayer, the fire alarms beeped again and Mary, exasperated, declared, “Lydia, sometimes God says ‘yes,’ sometimes He says, ‘no,’ and sometimes He says ‘yes, later.'” I guess she considered this a time when it was a “yes, later” answer.
Here are the pictures from today.
