Connections and Memories

I have a really vivid memory of singing "Teach Me to Walk in the Light" with my mom in church when I was about Gabe's age - around 4 or 5 years old I think.  I remember the spirit I felt while we sang and I remember feeling with every part of my body that my Mom loved me and knew that the Savior loved us too.  Every time I hear that song I think about my mom, I think about her teaching me about the Savior through out my life.  I've thought about the power of music and how even as a small child I remember feeling the spirit through music. 

Today I created another memory to add to that collection.  Today Gabe and I sang with a group of 4 other kids his age and their moms in our ward's sacrament meeting @ church.  It was just one verse of the song, "Jesus Once Was a Little Child".  The children sang the song and the the moms joined in for the chorus -

Jesus once was a little child
A little child like me;
And He was pure and meek and mild
As a little child should be. 

Chorus:
So little children
Lets you and I
Try to be like Him.
Try, try, try

After we sang and were walking back to our seat I had a wave of emotion hit me.  It occured to me that this song was just as applicable to me in my life right now as it was to my children.  We all need to be like little children, and we all need to live our lives like the Savior did.  And I thought a lot about how my children and I aren't much different from each other...We are all working in our lives to return to our Heavenly Father. 

I happen to have been born before my children, and I have the responsiblity right now to teach them the gospel, teach them to be good people and serve others.  But in the end we will have the same goals and need to work towards the same end result - returning to our Heavenly Father after (hopefully) living good lives.

As I teach my children I am going to become better while I hopefully help them also.  But I think that having children is one of the biggest examples of the teacher learning more than the student.  Being responsible for these sweet souls is teaching me more and more than I ever thought possible!

So I am grateful that I have been blessed with a history of being taught the gospel by my parents and wonderful leaders of the past and I look forward to creating more of those experiences with my own children.  What an awesome responsibility and amazing blessing!