"THIS much!"

Have you ever heard kids say that? 

"Mommy, I love you THIS much!" While holding their little arms as wide as they can. My kids are big fans of this statement. They will come up to me and say it, then look at me expectantly until I say it back. Inevitably, we end up hugging, because our arms are just poised for it! 

I was thinking about this the other day after Baby Girl ran up to me, and we exchanged "I love you". Do you of another person who loves us "THIS much"? Of course our parents, our spouses, friends maybe, and family, but anyone else?

There is one person who loved us so much He died for us, with His arms outstretched.

Photo courtesy of: https://www.lds.org/media-library/images/crucifixion-christ-1138638?category=jesus-christ&lang=eng

It is no wonder we are told to have the faith of a child. Only a child could so innocently see the symbolism and truly love us "THIS much"!

Christ died for us, with his arms outstretched, and will gladly welcome us home the same way!

Photo courtesy of: https://www.lds.org/media-library/images/jesus-christ?lang=eng&start=1&end=40&order=

Headaches

Lately I've been getting headaches. I had one for over a week that ended up putting me in the hospital (I had a virus, and a kidney infection) overnight. I still get headaches, and I am not sure how to get rid of them completely, but I have learned how to live with them. I think there are many times in our lives that there is something wrong, and we don't think we can fix it, so we cope with it.

Do you think that is okay? I am not sure that I do... I feel like a hypocrite saying that, when it's exactly what I do. Maybe I am a hypocrite.

There are situations that we feel like we cannot change, but does that mean we live with them? Do we just cope with them? Honestly though, do we? Do you?

Let me give you an example:

Little Man was playing at a park a few days ago, and got some wood chips in his tennis shoes. He ran around for a little while with the chips bothering his feet, because it's is a big ordeal to untie his shoes, take them off, dump them out, put them back on, and re-tie them. Especially for him, since he is still figuring out the shoe tying business. He did eventually take them off though. He asked for help, and saved his poor feet from blisters and slivers, but it took him a while. He didn't want to give up his "fun times" playing on the playground.
After he got his shoes cleaned out, and his feet didn't hurt anymore, he had even more fun. He wasn't uncomfortable anymore. He didn't feel pain, or stabbing in his feet and wasn't worried about how he stepped.

Here's another example:

A clam gets a tiny grain of sand stuck in it, and while it is painful and uncomfortable, it deals with it for years. It adds layers to the grain of sand, and polishes it, until it is smooth, and beautiful.

Both situations have a something that was bothersome, both were uncomfortable, and they both handled the situation differently.

I think it depends on the situation we are in, but we need to face every situation with prayer.

Maybe you are in a difficult relationship. Maybe your job is more than you feel like you can handle. Maybe you are in a terrible living situation.

What ever it is, face it with faith, face it with confidence, and face it with grace.

I let my headache take over my life, and maybe, if I had gone to the doctor sooner, I could have gotten better quicker without needing to go to the hospital. I probably wouldn't be writing this post though. I learned from it, and I grew through it. It was a headache, but what I learned because of it, will hopefully help you learn without needing to experience the same thing!

My headaches aren't gone. I'm coping, I'm learning, and hopefully I am polishing myself to be something great!

Writing for Me

I received a lot of responses from my last post about being enough in my own eyes. I had people ask me if I was okay, asking if I was in trouble, thanking me for my honesty, thanking me for putting into words what others feel, but can't say, and just saying, "I know how you feel! I've been there, too!"

It made me stop and think about what I put out there on the internet. What I put on my own blog. I kept being asked if I needed anything, and if there was anything anyone could do. I stopped writing for a while. I stopped, because I was worried. I worried about what anyone and everyone would think. I thought that what I would say or write would make too much of an effect too many people. I have realized the past few days that it is a good thing to effect people. To hopefully make a change, a positive change. What I say, what I feel, and what I think matters.

I am going to write what I think, and what I feel. If you don't want to keep reading, because you don't like what I have to say, that's okay. I'll write, and post, and share, and hope people read, but I will do it for me, not for you. I will write what is on my mind, and what is in my heart, and I am going to start today.

Lately, I have been thinking about friendships. I have had a lot of friends in my life. I have had a few good friends, many terrible "friends", and a small handful of really amazing friends. I have also been in each one of those categories myself.

Growing up, I tried to be the good and amazing friend, I tried to be there for the people around me, going out of my way to be friends with the kids that didn't have many friends, or that were "different", and sometimes they were the same way with me. Sometimes they would not, and I would end up broken down, and searching for new friends. In High School, I found those good friends. I had a group of friends that were pretty amazing. There was one person that wasn't a good friend, and I gave this person a lot of chances, probably more than he deserved, and ended up worse off for it. I leaned on those other people around me to hold me up, and keep me standing. But, I also wasn't a good friend to some those friends. I was a really bad friend. I lost friends that I loved deeply. I made horrible decisions.

I grew up, graduated High School, went to college, got married, watched some of those friends get married, and some of them not. I grew up. I reached out to those people that I had hurt back in High School, and I apologized. It took me years to find some of those people, but I didn't stop looking, and I was finally able to ask for the forgiveness that I have been searching for. I may never hear back from some of those people, but I asked, and I am trying to make up for it now.

I am lucky. I have 2 people that I am not related to (or married to), that are the most AMAZING friends I have ever had. These 2 ladies, know who they are, and if they don't, then I'm not doing my job well enough! I have known Jessica for almost 6 years, and she is incredible! She is my outlet, and go-to person, the person I would call if I killed someone and needed help moving the body (not that I would ever kill anyone)! She could always call me in the same situation. I feel like I can tell her anything and everything.

And I have known Lydia, for about a year, and she is amazing too. She helped me when I felt alone, and we became friends from our very first conversation! Our kids love each other, in fact, Tiny always says he is going to marry her daughter!

I have learned a lot about good friendships, and bad friendships, but no matter what I  learn, I keep trying. I keep trying to put my best foot forward in every friendship. What would happen if everyone did that? And what if we all tried to ask forgiveness, and mend relationships? What if we wanted the best for everyone, no matter what?

I am still learning, I am still trying. I stumble, and I make mistakes, but I also succeed.

The Continual Fight

A while back, I posted about my Battle With Depression. I felt at the time that this was something that I had under control, or was simply in my past. These last few months have been a continual fight to stay happy, or even melancholy. Just NOT upset, or sad, or angry for no particular reason.

On Friday I took Hubby to the doctor. He has a really bad ear infection, and is getting over an infection from either a Tick bite, or West Nile. So on Saturday, he really didn't feel good. I decided that I was going to get the house clean. Which shouldn't have been too hard, considering I had just cleaned the majority of it for dinner with the missionaries. But the kids had decided that at 1 in the morning, they were going to wake up, and build forts in their room. They woke Hubby and me up, in the process, and I didn't get back to sleep for a while. So I was not in a very happy mood to start the day with anyway. I got up, and started to pick up the kid's room, but got angry with how messy it was (3 kids in one room, isn't easy!), so I moved on to the kitchen. There were dishes that needed to be washed, counters to wipe down, and I still needed to cook that day! My mood just spiraled. I had to take care of the house, the kids, the hubby, and I felt completely drained. I snapped. To put it lightly. I snapped. I was screaming, not just yelling, that things were a mess, but SCREAMING. I eventually excused myself, and laid in bed for a while. I was angry, and I really couldn't understand why.

When I was in Elementary School, I was in a class for gifted learners. It was to help kids that were learning quicker than the other kids not get bored. One of the classes I took was about emotions. We talked about how anger is a secondary emotion. That there is ALWAYS a primary emotion that we cover up with anger. Sometimes we know what that primary emotion is, disappointment, sadness, jealousy, just to name a few. Other times we don't. We hide that primary emotion with anger, and want to protect ourselves from it. It's lame to think back to Elementary School to cope with emotions, but that is what I did on Saturday. I tried to think of that primary emotion. And I could not come up with anything. I took a shower, and got myself ready for the day. Then I did as Hubby suggested and went to the Temple.

I had a 35 minute drive to get to the temple, and by the time I got there, I was too late to do a session, so I decided to do Initiatory's. This would take less time, but I could still be in the temple. While I was there, I felt better. I felt peace. I was serving again. After about an hour I walked out of the temple. But instead of feeling that peace, as soon as I walked out the doors, all of my troubles were back. It was frustrating! I felt all of this turmoil, but I couldn't put words to what or why I was feeling it. I wandered around town for a little bit, before heading home to make dinner, and step back into my life.

While I was driving, I talked to Hubby on the phone. I just dumped on him. Yup, I unloaded my burdens onto him. What it came down to was this: I am not enough. I'm not enough to take care of EVERYTHING (even though I don't take care of everything, obviously, because Hubby was sick, and I just walked out of the house for the afternoon, with no plans on when I would come back, and he was fine with it). I'm not enough to figure out lunch and dinner everyday, and make it, and clean up after it. I am not enough to keep the kids happy everyday, and come up with fun things for them to do EVERYDAY, like you see on Pinterest. I'm not enough to take care of Hubby when he is sick. I am not enough to take care of myself. I am not enough.

Hubby kept telling me that I am enough. That I am more than enough to him. More than enough to the kids. The next sentence that came out of my mouth was more telling of where I have been at mentally than any other.

If when I look in the mirror, or inside myself, I am not enough for me, how can I be enough for anyone else?

Our conversation ended abruptly when a light bulb was knocked over, and shattered on the floor, and I was left with my own thoughts the rest of the drive. I am not going to lie, I thought at the time about just running away (how childish, right?), I thought about not going home. About how they would be better if I wasn't there screaming at them all the time. But as soon as those thoughts entered my mind, I had another very distinct thought come to my mind. "Ciera, who's idea of "Enough" are you thinking of?" I had to think about that for a little while. What definition was I following? What was I judging myself based on? Pinterest? Perfection? Facebook? My own? I was judging myself based on everyone else's best. I was taking the worst parts of myself and lining them up with the best of others.

I didn't measure up to that. I couldn't! No one could! Another thought came to my mind, "I made you, and you are ENOUGH to me!" God made me. He created me. He wouldn't make something less than enough.

When I dealt with Depression before, I knew people. I could go out of my way to help those around me. Now I don't know people. I don't know where needs are. I am trying to serve others, but it is difficult right now. I am not in the same situation as before.

I decided Sunday morning, as I woke up that I was going to be happy. I was going to choose how I wanted to feel. Hubby was still sick, the kids still needed me, the kitchen still needed to be finished being cleaned. But I was going to be HAPPY!

Choices are funny that way. While anger is a secondary emotion, that we don't always consciously chose, but continually use to hide our true emotions. Happiness is an emotion that we sometimes have to CHOOSE to feel to help us accept who and what we are.

My continuous fight, is making that choice. Choosing to be happy. Choosing to feel ENOUGH, and maybe one day, I won't have to choose anymore. I'll truly believe it.

"The Days"

Dinnertime around here is my favorite time! It's a time that I really look forward to, because we all get to be together. Since Hubby got his new job, there have only been a few times that we haven't had dinner as a family, which wasn't the case with his former positions.

There have been studies that say sitting down to eat dinner together as a family at least 3 times a week lowers the chances that your children will drink alcohol, use drugs, or break most rules. My kids are young, but I want them to know that we care about them. That no matter how busy our day is, we are willing to listen to them, and they are the most important part of our lives. Raising kids is stressful. It's hard, and it seems unending (someone please tell me it gets at least a little easier)! There are so many things that parents need to teach their children. Things that are easier, like tying shoe laces (not easy to teach when your 5 year old doesn't want to pay attention), reading, writing, numbers, and colors. Then there are things that seem to the world to be harder. I say this, because so many kids are not being taught these things. The Golden Rule, clean up after yourself, say please and thank you, inside voice vs outside voice, helping others, helping yourself, and be responsible. I believe that we are all born good. After all we are created in the "likeness and image" of God! God MAKES us good, and our parents (grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, family members, guardians, etc) RAISE us to BE good!

This is why dinnertime is so special to me. See we have a little question and answer time that have with our kids. Someone gets to start "The Days" as my kids call it. Usually one of the kids asks us if they can start, and it goes something like this:
Little Man: "Tiny, how was your DAY?"
Tiny: "Good!" (Or if the answer is bad, we ask why, and how we can make tomorrow better)(They can answer anything they want, long, crazy, boring, fun, etc)
Little Man: "What was your FAVORITE part?"
Tiny: "Dad coming home!" (This is usually their answer, but they can again answer anything they want. Last night the missionaries ate with us, and Baby Girl said her favorite part of the day was having them over. Tiny will sometimes tell us that it is "This amazing meal!")
Little Man: "What are you THANKFUL for?"
Tiny: "My Mommy!" (We ask the kids to come up with something different than what they said the day before, so we get some interesting ones! Once it was the dinner table!)
Little Man: How did you HELP someone today?
Tiny: I helped Mommy pick up the clothes and put them in the laundry. (This one is harder, but since we added this question, I see my kids looking for ways to help people, because they know they are going to have to tell us about it at dinner!)
Little Man: What is one thing you LIKE about YOURSELF?
Tiny: I like my smile. (Last night it was his flips, Little Man liked that he can run fast, and Baby Girl likes her face!)

After Little Man finishes asking Tiny, Tiny gets to ask someone else. Everyone gets a chance to talk to everyone else. Sometimes things they say can lead to a story, like what led up to them helping someone, or why they like a particular thing about themselves. We like to add things to what they say too, and we tell them about our day as well. Our kids get ready for bed after dinner, and go to sleep soon after, so it is helpful for them to focus on all the good things that happened in their day, but have a chance to talk about things that maybe weren't so good.

Before school got out, Little Man would often tell us part of his day was bad, but the rest was good. We would talk about what made his day bad, and it was usually something to do with someone at school not sharing, or not wanting to play a certain game, and then we would talk about how to make the next day better. He would feel important because we talked to him, and treated him like he was responsible and smart, and we would feel like he trusted us enough to open up to us about what may seem like a small problem now, but in his eyes was big and affected his whole day. Hopefully as time goes on, he still shares things like this with us!

When we are visiting family, or like last night, when someone is visiting us, we still ask about "The Days". One of the kids start, and they usually ask a guest or someone that doesn't live with us. The first time someone hears the questions, they are always taken by surprise. They always get a shocked look on their face, and usually laugh and say things like, "Wow! These are tough questions!" Or, "I really have to think about this one!" The kids all have the questions memorized and will not just ask the questions, but they will listen and respond to the answers. Asking questions, and being genuinely interested in the answers given. It is amazing to watch Baby Girl at 3 years old have a relatively grown up conversation with someone she doesn't know.

While we are just asking "The Days" to our kids, we are teaching them a few important lessons. We are teaching them that they need to be interested in the world around them. Be considerate of others, and when you talk to them, look them in the eye, give them your full attention, listen, and respond. We are teaching them to be thankful for unique things that they have been blessed with. Since they cannot just say the same thing everyday, they come up with things that Hubby and I wouldn't normally think of (i.e. the dinner table). We are teaching them to look for opportunities to serve. We don't ask them how they helped someone to let them boast about how awesome they are (even though they are awesome!), but to have them learn to see when others need help and offer it without being asked. We are teaching them to love themselves! This is something that is important in today's world, because there are so many things and people that say, "You aren't good enough." "You don't measure up." "You need to change this and this and this about yourself." But we are teaching our kids to love themselves as they are. GOD MADE THEM GOOD!

Every once in a while we will add to the question list. Little Man has contributed a few times. Asking these questions sometimes makes our dinnertime long. Sometimes our food gets cold while we are asking or answering questions. Sometimes everyone is done eating before we've all had a chance to talk about our day. Sometimes dinner is really short, because no one has much to say. Our kids look forward to it just as much as I do. They like to be involved in our family life. They like that they get to talk with the grown ups. I like that I get to talk with them. I like that we all get to focus on the good in our lives. We all get to focus on serving. We get to focus on our family!

What would happen if everyone sat down to dinner as a family just 3 times a week, and had open conversations like this? Maybe family dinner wouldn't be an anomaly, it would be the norm!

Can I be an Angel?

I wrote a while ago that I had a doozy of a story for you, and today is the day I am going to share it with you! Are you ready? Get yourself a drink, settle in for a story worthy of the "big screen"!

Sometimes we need Angels in our lives, but this is a story when my husband got to BE an Angel for someone else. Our church has what we call General Conference. This is when all of the leaders of our religion gather together, and speak to the rest of the church. There are 4 General Sessions, one on Saturday morning from 10:00-12:00, Saturday Afternoon from 2:00-4:00, Sunday Morning from 10:00-12:00, and Sunday Afternoon from 2:00-4:00. Then there is the General Women's Meeting, which is the Saturday BEFORE the other General Sessions from 6:00-7:30, and General Priesthood Meeting on Saturday night, after the other sessions from 6:00-8:00. It is a lot! We watch on TV, listen on the Radio, sometimes we go to our church buildings and watch it, and sometimes are able to travel to SLC, UT and listen in the Conference Center, or on Temple Square at one of the small theaters that stream the Conference live. It seems like a HUGE commitment, but in all honesty, it's not! I love to hear from my spiritual leaders, especially from the Living Prophet, Thomas S Monson, his 2 Counselors, and the Quorum of the 12 Apostles (learn more about my religion here). Many people, my family included, like to have a special night during the Priesthood Session, the men attend the meeting, while the women and children have a night out, or spend time together at home. Hubby likes to attend Priesthood meeting with his father, so when that time came around a few years ago, I sent him up to his parents house alone. I spent time with the kids, and enjoyed time by myself.

The drive to Hubby's parent's house was about 2 hours. I sent him out the door, with plenty of time to get here and attend Priesthood Session. He called every half hour or so, until he didn't. I was expecting his call, and it didn't come. I knew that he wasn't at his parent's house yet. He still had at least 45 minutes to go. I tried to call him, and he didn't answer. I started to get worried. I kept calling him, every couple of minutes, until finally he called me back. He was upset, and was talking very quickly. I got him to calm down, and this is the story he told me:

He was driving towards his parent's house, and about 45 minutes away, when he came up to an off ramp. It wasn't a very used off-ramp, because it is in a rural location, and he wasn't planning on taking the exit. As he got closer to the exit, he felt stronger and stronger like he should stop, until he finally HEARD, "PULL OFF THE ROAD! TAKE THE EXIT!" He couldn't ignore the feeling or the voice, so he took the exit. This particular exit makes almost a complete circle to get off the freeway, and onto the connecting road. The connecting road crosses OVER the freeway, so the ramp angles upward. From the direction Hubby was driving, he could not see the entire off-ramp, but as he drove on the ramp, he saw a small black plume of smoke, and a cement barrier was missing. He immediately stopped his car. As he got closer to the edge of the road, he could see a car upside down at the bottom of the hill. He ran down the hill, and found a young girl, about 17, inside the upside down vehicle. She was unconscious and bleeding heavily. The car was smoking from somewhere, and even though he had been told to never move someone who has been in an accident, Hubby knew he had to get her out of the car. Luckily, someone else had been taking the same exit, and watched as Hubby ran down the hill, and pulled over to see what was going on. This man helped Hubby get the girl out of her car, and laying flat on the ground, both being careful to move her head and neck as little as possible. They could see that the girl was hurt very badly, and since Hubby has had CNA training, he started treating her cuts and abrasions the best he could, while the man called 911. Hubby found a large cut underneath the girl's arm, and when he turned to show the man, he was handed a shirt. The man had seen the cut at the same time, and taken off his shirt to help. They had the bleeding mostly stopped by the time the ambulance arrived, and took her to the hospital. Hubby called the girl's parents while they were waiting for the ambulance, and found out that she was LDS, just like we are. Her parent's asked Hubby to give her a Priesthood Blessing, and Hubby told them he would. He gently laid his hands on her head, and gave her a silent blessing, since the paramedics were there, and he didn't want to interrupt them. He ended his blessing, just as the paramedics took her to the ambulance. Hubby had a short time to talk to the girl before the paramedics arrived, and told her about our kids, and tried to keep her mind off of her pain. He was covered in her blood by the time she left, and was too shaken to drive for a short time. After the ambulance left, Hubby and the man that stopped to help him, talked a little. The man asked Hubby what he was doing when he put his hands on the girl's head. Hubby explained Priesthood Blessings, and the man said that he felt so calm, during the blessing, and that even though it was hectic all around them, he could feel peace. Hubby told him that he felt it too. The two parted ways, and Hubby called me. He drove to his parent's house, and attended Priesthood Meeting. The next day, he called the girl's parents again, and asked how their daughter was doing. They told him she was doing well, but had a crushed pelvis, a broken Femur in 2 places, broken ribs, as well as the gash that had been bleeding so heavily. They thanked him for helping her, and promised to have her call him, but she never did.

A few weeks went by, and Hubby took the kids up to visit his parents while I worked. He pulled off of the freeway to get gas, and happened to see the girl's parents. They told him that she had JUST been released from the Hospital, and had been asking how to get in touch with him. He was able to talk to her again, to give her a hug, and introduce her to our kids. Then she thanked him. She thanked him for giving her a blessing. She told him that it was a beautiful blessing, and she knew that she was going to be okay after hearing it. Hubby told her that he didn't say a word out loud, but she told him specific things that he had said in his mind. She had a long road to recovery, was in a cast that covered her leg from her foot, up to her chest, and was still healing. She knew from his blessing that she was going to be okay though. She had been driving to a party that she wasn't supposed to go to, snuck out of her parent's house, taken their car, and gotten into an accident, that could have taken her life. She told him that she was changing her life. She wasn't going to see those people anymore. She was going to start living the Gospel again.

Hubby received a powerful example of why it is important to always live worthy of the sacred Priesthood that he holds. He was able to help someone because of it. Maybe this story isn't worthy of the big screen in your eyes. Maybe it isn't very important to you. But to our family, it is. It is worthy of the big screen. It is a doozy. It was a turning point for that young girl's life, and it was a reminder for ours.

Living the Gospel may seem like a lot. 3 Hours of church every Sunday, callings that take time away from our families, service, General Conference that takes up an entire weekend, 10% of all of the money we earn we donate to the Church, Fast Offerings (money that we pay to the Church to help those in need), fasting, scripture study, prayer, no drinking, no smoking, no coffee, no tea. The list seems long and never ending, BUT the benefits out weigh the cost. The blessings are UNCOUNTABLE! The chances to help others are undeniable.

Sometimes we need angels, and sometimes we get to be someone else's angel. This was Hubby's chance to be an angel, and because he was living according to Gospel Principle's he was blessed with the opportunity!

Flowers VS Dandelions

We share a backyard with our neighbors where we live. They are an older couple, so naturally, the kids call them "Grandma" and "Grandpa". The kids love to help their new "grandparents" with yard work. I have seen them out running circles around the two as they work. All three of my kids spent a few hours helping to pull weeds, so that "Grandma & Grandpa" didn't have to. They love them, and "Grandma and Grandpa" love them too.

Tiny went outside one day, and was "helping" pull weeds, but accidentally pulled a flower. This flower had just been planted, and was very easy to pull, which was lucky, because it was also very easy to replant. We had just talked to Tiny about not touching "Grandma's" flowers, and he cried. When I say he cried, what I really mean is he bawled. Like huge tears, sobbing, can't breathe, shaking kind of crying. He was upset. And upset is an understatement. He felt terrible! He kept telling us that he was just trying to "be helpful", but we couldn't see how picking a flower was helpful. Luckily, instead of getting mad and yelling at him, I took him into his room and talked to him. We talked about not touching "grandma's" flowers. We talked about how he needed to apologize to "grandma" for pulling her flowers, and knelt in prayer together. Tiny prayed the most sincere prayer I have ever heard from a 4 year old. He prayed for his Heavenly Father to forgive him, and to help him to remember to not touch the flowers. He prayed that his "Grandma" would forgive him and not be mad at him. He was so worried that he had made his new "Grandma" hate him, that he was overwhelmed with grief. I gave him a big hug, and told him that he didn't need to worry about "Grandma" hating him. She would never hate him, but he did need to apologize.

Tiny stood with his chin on his chest, and his arms hanging limply by his sides as he walked out the door to talk to "Grandma". You could barely understand him as he asked, "Will you forgive me for pulling your flower?" before he burst into tears again. She wrapped him in her arms, kissed him on the forehead and told him that of course she would forgive him. Of course she didn't hate him. Of course she LOVED him! It took her only a few seconds before she realized what had happened. Tiny had been walking around the yard pulling any Dandelions he had found in the grass. That afternoon, "grandma" had planted some very pretty YELLOW flowers. These flowers look a lot like Dandelions, especially to a 4 year old. Tiny thought that he was doing something that "grandma" had asked him to do. He was pulling a weed. To him, those very pretty flowers were just weeds.

In church a few weeks ago, we were talking about baptism. The teacher asked, "Why do we believe it is so important that we wait to be baptized until we are 8?" There were a lot of answers: We do not believe that we need to be forgiven for Adam and Eve's sin of partaking of the fruit. We do not believe that children younger than 8 can be tempted by Satan. and We do not hold children younger than 8 accountable for the things they do wrong. I told the above story. I told them how Tiny felt so terrible. How I did not understand how he was being helpful by pulling a flower. I told them how we talked. How HE prayed. How he apologized and promised to try to do better. Then I told them this, "SOMETIMES WE CANNOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A FLOWER AND A DANDELION." Kids need time to learn. I can look at that flower and see a flower, and look at a Dandelion and see a weed. But Tiny could not. There are differences that are subtle in the world. Something small can make a big difference. And we need time to learn them. We also need time to learn to humble ourselves, like Tiny did. When we are young, we are humble. Christ said we all need to "become like a little child". Children teach us many things through their innocence, and they teach us how to truly repent and be forgiven.

Tiny taught me a great lesson that day. Everything isn't black and white. Sometimes it's all yellow, and we need to discern the subtle differences!

Dandelions

Beautiful Flowers from the Garden that Tiny pulled