Always Be With Them

©Darrell Wyatt

I think one of the hardest things that I deal with as a mom is to see my kids unhappy.  I'm not talking about the unhappiness that comes from not getting everything they want or the unhappiness that comes from their favorite TV show being canceled.  I'm talking about real, true unhappiness.  My oldest daughter is going through that a little bit right now, trying to decide whether or not to keep some of her 'friends' in her life.  It has literally made her sick.  I remember the emotions that come along with these teenage 'life or death' decisions like it was yesterday.  We get through them, but when we're in the moment, it just seems like the world is crashing down around us.  I wouldn't go back to being a teenager for anything. 

It's not easy, as a mom, to watch my kids struggle.  If I could, I would just cushion them from all the hard things that come with growing up, but I can't.  I can guide them through these struggles.  I can help them back up when they fall.  I cannot take their sorrows away.  There is really only one thing that I can do - just be there.  Be there when they need to talk.  Be there when they need to cry.  Just be with them.

Sometimes I forget that my Heavenly Father feels the same way about all of his children.  He doesn't want to see us struggle, and he can't take those struggles away.  He guides us along, catches us when we fall, and most importantly, He has provided a way, through the Atonement, for us to always have the Spirit with us.

Every Sunday, as we renew our covenants with Him, we promise to take upon ourselves the name of Christ.  To always remember Him.  To keep His commandments.  And then, we are promised, if we keep those covenants, that His spirit will always be with us.  Always.  Not just on Sundays.  Not just while we're in church meetings.  Not just during Family Home Evening or scripture study or while we are praying.  Always.

All of us face different family circumstances and home situations.  All of us need strength in dealing with them.  This strength comes from faith in the Savior's love and in the power of his atonement.  If we trustingly put our hand in the Savior's, we can claim the promise of the sacramental prayer to always have his Spirit with us.  All problems are manageable with that strength, and all other problems are secondary in urgency to maintaining a strong spiritual life. (Chieko N. Okazaki, Ensign, Nov. 1993)

Sister Okazaki's wise counsel to maintain a strong spiritual life will not only help my daughter get through the struggles that she is going through right now, but it will help me, as her mom, stay close to the spirit and know the things that the Lord would have me say to her.  I'm about as imperfect a parent as there is.  I make mistakes and say and do the wrong things.  I have good intentions, of course, but there are times that I definitely can make a situation worse than it needs to be.  If I can just keep the three promises that I make every Sunday during the Sacrament - to take upon myself the name of Christ, to always remember Him, and to keep His commandments - the Lord will bless me with His spirit always.  Always!  What a huge blessing this is to me and to my family.  If He is with me always, I will be able to perform my duties as a parent with Him by my side.  How could I ever go wrong?

Click here to read what I read today: Moroni 4

Click here to read what I read today: Moroni 5