Hey, it’s me! I’ve been posting inspirational quotations for a while but I had some thoughts of my own that I wanted to share today. We had our special monthly meeting where members of the congregation can go up to the podium and say what they believe. We call this a testimony meeting. I sometimes wish we would end this practice because it just seems super risky– you never know what anyone is going to say or how long they’re going to say it. But then you’ll hear something or feel inspired to go up there yourself and you feel grateful that we have this opportunity to simply share what’s in our hearts. Today someone said something that really stood out to me: “Children are a blessing, no matter what the world would have us think.”

Well, that got me thinking.

My first thought was the extreme cases, tragedies like abortion and abandonment. The thinking that some lives aren’t worth anything. But then there are the not so extreme cases, cases like mine. My husband’s work schedule has been relentless which means so has my life with the kids. Even if they were behaving perfectly, it would still be hard to be responsible for every little thing. And I’ll just say they haven’t been behaving perfectly. Like, not even on the same map as perfect. So I’ve complained a lot, yelled more than I should have, and even as I’m writing this, I feel terrible about all of it. A little bone weary, too. I haven’t felt blessed and my kids certainly haven’t felt like blessings. But the reminder that children are a blessing, always a blessing has been like a tiny raft cast out into my stormy seas. Even when schedules are tough and the work is hard and I don’t feel up to the challenges, my children are gifts from God. And instead of letting that make me feel bad, I actually feel hopeful. Because if they are a gift from God, it means I am too. And He is a perfect Father who gives no bad gifts.

Happy Sunday, everybody.

xo

eb