my message

I had an incredible "mothering" experience on Sunday that moved me to tears.

There is a hymn we sing at Church, "I am a Child of God." It's probably the first song everyone learns or hears. It's a beautiful message about how I am a child of God, He sent me here to a family, they can teach me, and one day we can all live together forever in heaven.

Wesley loves this song. I tend to separate "regular songs" (like Wheels on the Bus, Itsy Bitsy Spider, or Green Speckled Frogs) from "Church songs" or "Primary songs" by calling the latter "snuggle songs" (which essentially means they are quiet songs we sing to calm down or at bedtime). Wesley has started calling this particular song, "I am a Child of God A Snuggle Song." Funny. I know he knows all the words, and we sing it often. Although I have never been lucky enough to get him to sing it on video.

Sunday, when we got to Church, the prelude music was playing and I asked Wesley what we should do at Church that day. (I was going for "be reverent" or "think of Jesus".) He said, "sing I am a Child of God A Snuggle Song." I told him that was a great idea, but I looked in the program and didn't see it. I said we might not sing it that day.

Imagine my surprise when they announced the Opening Hymn, and it was "I am a Child of God" !! I had totally missed it in the program, even though I had looked for it. I told Wesley how excited I was and that everyone in the whole Church would sing it with us. As the music started, he looked at me with his big beautiful blue eyes and recognition crossed his face. He knew that he knew this song! As everyone started singing, so did he. He didn't miss a beat. He sung the entire first verse along with the congregation. He stood next to me on the pew, and I had my arm wrapped around him, and we sung this beautiful hymn together.

Needless to say I was a complete emotional basketcase by the second verse.

He doesn't know the second or third verses as well (I do sing them to him), but he chimed back in for the chorus. Having the whole ward sing beside us was a magical experience for him. He was beaming. I was so touched.

(In fact, a woman came up to me after Church and asked if I was "all right," meaning that she saw the tears streaming down my face and assumed, you know, my dog had died or something. Fortunately, they were tears of joy, I assured her.)

There is a movie out right now, based on a best-selling book of the same title, "The Help." I read the book and loved it loved it loved it, and I saw the movie and loved it loved it loved it. It's very much a drama -- not much of a comedy, even if the previews make it out to be. It deals with some serious issues: the 1960s South, where black maids raise white children and run white households, but aren't respected enough to be able to use the toilet in the white houses. Civil rights and civil equality is a hot subject. It's a very touching book, and makes the readers really think about what is right and wrong in the world, especially in how we treat other people.

Well, in the story, the main maid character Abileen tends a 3-year-old named Mae Mobley. Every morning when Mae Mobley wakes up, she recites a phrase with her: You is smart. You is kind. You is important.

In the book, I remember Abileen remarking that she only has so much time with the children, and she just hopes that what she says will get through to them, so they don't grow up to be like "they mamas." Although time and time again (Abileen had tended 17 children before Mae Mobley), they do grow up to be like their mothers -- bigoted, selfish, disrespectful. She just continues to hope that what she teaches sticks with them and changes them eventually.

I love this thought. Not necessarily because I don't want Wesley to grow up like me, but because I know the world is tough and crazy and I fervently pray that something I say will stick with him. Something I say will be heard above the madness he is sure to face. He is smart. He is kind. He is important.

He is a child of God.

That is my message. I sing that song to him almost every night before bed. Every single time I put him to bed I make sure he hears those words. And sometimes during the day, whenever he wants to hear it. Anytime he asks for a primary song, whether it is (his words) "Beautiful World" or "Walk in the Light" or "The Temple Song" I sing them to him. I will never miss an opportunity to teach my son about the gospel through music. It amazes me sometimes how much he loves those primary songs. I am so blessed that his little spirit at this tender young age recognizes them as truth.

The other week the temple was closed, but since I had to do something in Bellevue we drove down there and brought a picnic lunch. The whole way down (about 30 minutes), we sung primary songs. And when we got there, Wesley got to see the temple in person. He was in awe! It was a sweet moment, and I'm sure we'll do it again.

He is a child of God. I hope the same recognition that crossed his face Sunday when he heard the organ playing the music of that hymn strikes him when he is confused or scared or alone. He is a child of God, and no one or no thing can take that from him. I am grateful to my mother for teaching me that, because in the hard times it really helped me. I hope my son feels it, too. It's the truth, and it's the best message out there. Never forget it.