Primary Program

This past Sunday we had our primary program.

It was, perhaps, the best program I have been to.

I am a Sunbeams teacher. So, I was handling about 9 little 3 year olds. It was busy, but I felt the spirit so strong.

I've shared this before, but I'll share it again. I was disappointed when I got called to primary. I was looking forward to being able to be kid-less for two hours of church. Church with 5 kids is a challenge, and on some days it's really hard. Jon Mark and I are in agreement that we are building seeds of faith for our children, and we are obedient even when it's hard. We hope that we get spiritual fulfillment from church, but some Sunday's we spent more time in the halls than in class. You can imagine my excitement when I realized that Caleb was a month away from going to nursery. I was excited to be spiritually uplifted in Relief Society each week. That's when I was called to be a Sunbeam teacher. I was on the verge of heart broken. I know it sounds silly. But, I accepted the call, because I will always accept the call to serve.

The first Sunday was extremely difficult. There are a couple of kids in my class with REAL behavioral issues. I have a lot of experience with children, and I even have quite a bit of experience with special needs children. One of my Sunbeams surpasses all of the difficult children that I have worked with in the past. He is so challenging. My first Sunday as his teacher, I was punched and kicked, spat upon, and at one point he pinched my butt. His relationship with me has come a long way. Nevertheless, I left to go home that day, and I was discouraged, stressed out, and I may or may not have cried.

But, all of this goes to show just how the Lord is aware of me and my needs. I have been blessed countless times with spiritual experiences since I accepted the call. The last few months I have felt so uplifted in primary. I have also been blessed with experiences outside of primary. I am beginning to think that the Lord knew what He was doing putting me in with the Sunbeams ;) Maybe, those kids need me and I also need them. The Lord has taken care of my needs. I trust Him.

Well, the primary program was one of those moments for myself, and for many in attendance. I was overcome to the point of tears on the last song. We sang the song, "Praise to the Man", the kids sang, the congregation joined in, and then the kids finished the last verse. It was amazing. Later, as I was tucking Joshua into bed, he asked me to sing the song, "Children Holding Hands Around the World". He picked that song because he said, "I don't know, there is just something about that song that makes me feel like I am fighting on the Lord's team, and I'm fighting a spiritual battle in the last days." He then went on to tell me that he had had a very spiritual moment during the primary program. He reflected upon a time weeks earlier when I had asked him to eat all of his sweet potato fries before he was allowed a yogurt. He hates sweet potato fries and I wasn't looking so he decided to not eat all of them and just throw them away and get his yogurt. He said that he was about to throw them away when he felt like that was dishonest and that he wanted to be honest even when people weren't looking. So, he ate the fries. He told me that when he was singing the song, "Children Holding Hands Around the World" he felt like the Holy Ghost had communicated to him that in that experience the Holy Ghost had helped him make the right choice when before he thought it was his own thoughts. He said, "Mom, it was a very spiritual moment for me and it left me on a more solid foundation. My testimony is so much stronger now." I expressed gratitude to him for sharing that with me and I told him that as he gets older he will learn how the spirit communicates to him, but that he can know that whatever invites us and intices us to do good, it is of the Lord. That is the spirit of the Holy Ghost and someday when he looks back on his life, he will be amazed at how many times the spirit helped him.

It was a good mom moment. It is sinking in. Even when Family Home Evening is loud and it looks like they aren't listening, they are. Even when church is hard, we are in the right place doing the right thing.