Parenting Tip - Prayers of Gratitude

At this thanksgiving time of year, I am reminded of an experience I heard in a talk several years ago that has always impressed me.  A family was kneeling for their evening family prayer with a Church visitor who was staying the night with them.  The well respected  Church visitor requested that the wife (who had been asked to say the prayer) only say words of appreciation for blessings received, and not ask for anything. The wife, who had received word earlier in the day of a dear friend's passing, wanted to pray for help for the family.  But acting in faith and obedience to the request, she offered a sincere prayer of thanksgiving.

She thanked Heavenly Father for meaningful and memorable experiences with this dear friend. She communicated sincere gratitude for the Holy Ghost as the Comforter and for the gifts of the Spirit that enable us to face adversity and to serve others. Most importantly, she expressed appreciation for the plan of salvation, for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, for His resurrection, and for the ordinances and covenants of the restored gospel which make it possible for families to be together forever.

This family learned an important lesson about gratitude and how in the midst of trials and problems, one can always find things to be thankful about.

I have offered prayers of gratitude and have experienced some very special moments at these times.  When you only express gratitude, you look at things in a different light and suddenly come to understand problems and situations in a different way.

If you are dealing with a troubled child or spouse, suddenly you see and express gratitude for the opportunity to learn and grow and for the wisdom which your Father can give you through the Holy Ghost. 

If you are experiencing health problems for yourself or a family member, you understand how to express gratitude for good health in the past and for medical doctors that give help and medication.  You thank your Father in Heaven that you live in this day and in this country where medical knowledge is so advanced and available.

If you are undergoing financial difficulties, you find yourself thanking your Father for future help He will give you.  You thank Him for the ability to know how to be resilient and wise in cooking with the food you have on hand and how to manage on a tight budget.

I LOVE to offer prayers of gratitude now, because I have such a paradigm shift in looking at life.  It's so fun to see things in a completely different light.  Instead of looking at problems as "why me?", you view them as a chance to learn and grow. Instead of your problems having a negative and depressive feel, they take on a more eternal and spiritual perspective.

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1Thessalonians 5:18

          


Happy Thanksgiving!


Cathy

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Parenting Tip - We are Mothers!

When I was pregnant with my 5^th child, I was embarrassed to tell my neighbors or even go grocery shopping. I dreaded getting those looks that said, “What? Do you think you have to populate the whole world yourself?” Or worse still, the people who made snide little comments like, “Are all those your children,” then walked away muttering, “doesn't she know about birth control?”

But I loved children and my husband and I wanted another baby. We both were raised in large families and saw the benefits of having lots of siblings, and we wanted a large family ourselves. But did I really? It was hard enough raising four children without adding another. I decided, yes, I did want another child. But I also decided that if I loved having a large family, I needed to start noticing the joy my children gave me, so I started a “Joy Journal”. In this journal I recorded little things that happened during the day that gave me joy. I didn't want this to become a burden or another failure attempt, so I didn't record things every day, just whenever I noticed something special.

My Joy Journal became a wonderful blessing in the life of my family. At birthdays I would read from my journal about the things the birthday child had done during that year that brought me joy and this became a special part of their birthday.

Every family is different. Some mothers who only have one or two children wish they could have more. Some are very happy to have just the amount they have. But as mothers, regardless of the number of children we have, we should never be embarrassed to BE MOTHERS.

With permission, I quote from an article I recently read (Ensign Oct. 2013, 60) of an experience that happened to the author, Craig Cardon's, wife. It took place when they attended a dinner for members of the Dean’s Alumni Leadership Council at the Harvard Kennedy School several years ago.

“After the dinner the president of the council invited the council members and their companions to stand and introduce themselves. He suggested that each person share educational and professional background information, along with what each considered to be his or her most significant accomplishment. Because of the way the room was organized, our table would be the last to participate.

[My wife} later explained to me that as she saw all in attendance standing and listing their many academic degrees and professional accomplishments, she thought, “What can I possibly say to these people who have been ambassadors, high government officials, educators, professionals, and leaders of gigantic enterprises? I don’t even have my bachelor’s degree yet” (though she subsequently received it in 2008).

[My wife’s} mind continued racing: “I’ve got to think of something to say. No, I’ve got to find an excuse to leave.” Then, in an instant, she thought, “I’m going to pray.”

She said a silent, earnest prayer, pleading with the Lord for His help and direction. In that moment, a voice came into her mind with perfect clarity. It said, “Debbie, who in this room has achieved more important things in this life or has had more amazing experiences than you? You are a mother in Zion. You have brought eight children into this world. Those who are of age are happily married and are having children of their own. What is more important than that? Debbie, get up and tell these people with power what you have done.”

At that moment, the microphone was passed to our table. I had seen [Debbie] shifting in her chair and looking a bit uneasy, so I extended my hand to take the microphone, thinking to give her additional time to prepare herself. Imagine my surprise when her hand stretched out in front of mine and literally grabbed the microphone.

She confidently stood, and with an elegance difficult to describe, she said, “A few years ago I accompanied my husband here to the Harvard Kennedy School. And my most important achievement is that I am the mother of 8 children and the grandmother of 18 grandchildren” (the number of grandchildren at the time).

With that statement, spontaneous applause erupted in the room. It was the only applause of the entire evening. [Debbie] shared a few additional thoughts relating to the central, societal role of the family and the happiness found therein. Then she handed me the microphone and sat down. I stood and added simply, “I’m her husband.”

We are mothers. We love, teach, and nurture our children into responsible adults. We cry with our children, cry over our children, and cry about our children. We laugh with our children, laugh about our children, and cry when they're gone. We teach with our words, teach by example, and pray that our teaching will become internalized. We have an important job! Let us never be embarrassed to proudly say, we are mothers!

Thanks for reading,

Cathy

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