Little Lessons You Teach Me

Dear Calan,

For 4 months I have been blessed with the opportunity to be your mommy. For a very long time I looked forward to feeding you, washing you, rocking you, playing with you.

I never dreamed that at such a young age you would teach me so much. When I least expect it, without any words, you teach me a beautiful little lesson that changes the way I look at life. I don't want to forget these precious moments so I will write them down to share with you one day...

You are learning new things everyday. We feel so proud of you! When you smile and giggle for me and daddy we hover over you and soak it all in. The first time you discovered your little fingers we were amazed! I was feeding you a couple weeks ago and as I sat you up you burped all by yourself! You're Incredible! :)

Even your simplest accomplishments are so exciting to us.

The other morning daddy had already left, so his job of sucking out your congested nose fell on my shoulders. I'm no good at it and we both know it. You were so patient with me... you tried to stay really still and didn't cry one bit. The look on your face said to me- "that was a really good try, mom".

I told you over and over what a big boy you were and that I was so proud of you.

A feeling swept over me that said, "And I'm proud of you."

I was taken back for a minute. I felt that just as daddy and I praise you, our Heavenly Father was equally proud of all of us for our simple accomplishments throughout the day.

I had never thought of it before- but in my mind doing the "over achiever accomplishments" would surely gain the praise of my ever watching Heavenly Father. But in that brief moment, as I stood there full of pride for you, I felt that even our smallest actions are not only noted, but praised openly on the other side.

So while finding the cure for cancer will never be in my list of accomplishments, I did smile and say 'good morning' to the people we passed on our walk today- even though I hadn't brushed my hair yet and would have rather ducked my head.

But it felt good- and that tells me it was the right thing to do.

And that's how HE tells us He's proud of us.

Thank you, my little son, for helping me to more fully understand that.

The flight of the bumble bee

Several years ago I was sitting in the front room of my apartment reading a book. I had been teaching school and loved my job but, I have to admit, was ready to find the love of my life and get married. I mentioned this frequently to my very patient Heavenly Father in my prayer each morning, night and several times during the day.

As I sat there enjoying my book, I heard a buzzing sound. I soon realized that a little bee had sneaked past the front door and was now trapped between the window and the blinds right above me. I opened the door and twisted the blinds to give this little critter a chance to escape.

Nothing happened.

He continued to fly around in his confined space in a frenzy, repeatedly hitting his nose against the glass trying to get out. He was becoming more and more frustrated.

Having compassion on the little guy I opened the blinds completely and, being home alone, began talking him through what was going on.

“Come on buddy, I know you want to go outside, but you can’t get there that way.”

I took my book and gave him a gentle swoosh towards the door. He spun around for a little bit and then headed back to the window, once again beating his nose into the glass.

“If you would just turn around you would see that there is a way out.”

This time I grabbed a pillow from the couch and gave him a mighty thud towards the door. I stepped back and hoped for the best.

He flew around dazed for a bit, turned towards the door and happily flew away.

I sat back down to resume my reading when a thought came to my mind as if it had been spoken out loud...

“Erin, stop beating your nose against the glass.”

I suddenly froze. In my life I was acting like that little bee and I had just learned a very important lesson. I needed to follow the path Heavenly Father had for me and make me into the person He wanted me to become. I needed to stop beating my nose against the glass.

We all have desires, righteous desires that we hope and pray will come to fruition. But, it’s when we can align our will with HIS that we can find the path that is truly ours. Some of the time we need a gentle prod while other times we get quite a jolt. Both can be painful at first but, if we allow it, can lead us to a better way. He does this because He loves us.

"The Lord gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding and compassion which polish you for everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain." Richard G. Scott

Now and then I find myself beating my nose against the glass and with a smile I think of that little bee and the lesson he taught me that day.

I hope I never forget it.

A lesson learned from a child: The Parable of the Nail Polish

I am a very simple person.

.

I feel like the Lord knows me so perfectly and is so patient with my shortcomings. He teaches me in a simple way that has a deep impact on my life and how I look at things. These are just everyday things, everyday experiences, that for me become a parable to learn from.

These learning moments seem to come at the perfect time, to present the perfect lesson just for me. And it seems, for a time, it is all I can think about- as it sinks into my soul and teaches me the perfect lesson.

Last week while visiting family in Kentucky Marla, my sister-in-law, relayed this story to me and it has been on my mind ever since…

This is Gracee…



She’s 5 years old and is a ball of energy, a genuine spit-fire! She is so full of life and I truly believe her ultimate goal at any given moment is to be in the spot light and make others laugh. Gracee will sometimes go to the extreme, a bit on the mischievous side, even risking a possible “timeout” session to bring humor to an on-looker.

The other day Marla (her mother) was busy cleaning up the house and suddenly realized that it was much too quiet. Knowing her mischievous-ness Marla decided she better find out what Gracee was up to.

After a thorough search, Marla was surprised to find Gracee in her room, under the covers of her bed, sobbing. She lifted the covers to find Gracee curled up in a little ball.

“Gracee, honey, what’s the matter?”

Through her sobs Gracee struggled but finally said,

“You won’t love me any more after you find out what I did.”

This really concerned Marla, knowing Gracee and all that she is capable of doing.

“Gracee, tell mommy what you did and I can help you.”

Reluctantly, Gracee lead her mother into the bathroom that connected to her bedroom. Marla quickly put together the full story by the scene that laid before her.

There was a bottle of nail polish that had obviously been spilled on the counter top with gobs of toilet paper which apparently only aided in smearing the polish around the entire sink area. Nail polish fingerprints also covered the entire area, including the soap dispenser and the faucet. Gracee had made a huge mess and did her very best to clean it up… but her best just wasn’t enough.

Marla pulled out the nail polish remover and together (with a lot of work) had the mess all cleaned up.

I could visualize Gracee… in the bathroom excited to girl-ify herself with some cute pink polish, which I must mention she was allowed to use in the bathroom. But in a split second everything went wrong. Trying her best to fix the problem, she only saw the problem grow. With every attempt, it became worse and worse until she realized it was no use and all she could do was hide under the covers and sob.

Had she called to her mother at the beginning she could have saved herself so much anxiety and sorrow.

As Marla relayed this story to me I felt instantly connected to little Gracee and her struggle. This little girl, so independent, could not solve this problem on her own.

How many times in my life have I “spilled some nail polish” and couldn’t figure out how to clean it up myself? Frantically, I work to fix the problem only to find that all attempts have been in vain?

Why do I sometimes feel the urge, like Gracee, to “hide under my covers”, not wanting to expose my inadequacies to my Father in Heaven and my Savior? Am I also afraid that He will no longer love me when I admit that I have fallen short? Do I truly believe that He can make me what I need and want to be?

I can just imagine a loving Heavenly Father, looking on, whispering to me, “Erin, ask for help. I love you and I am here, just ask.”

Our “nail polish spill” could be any challenge in life…

It could be something we did wrong, it could be something we just aren’t doing right, it could be a struggle we are going through that we just don’t understand. Regardless, it can only be fixed up by our dear Savior and his infinite power to heal and to bring the peace and assurance that everything will be alright... we just have to believe and trust in Him.

"Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief"

Mark 9:24

A sweet lesson can be learned from a little spilled nail polish.