Raising Children #2
One thing I've learned in my life is raising children is not an easy task. Someone once told me that we as parents have until a child is 5 years old to teach them everything they need to learn. Once they turn 5, well they just strengthen what they have learned from there. I'm not sure I believe that because we are learning new things all the time. I did enjoy the poem written by Robert Fulghum All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten. It talks about not hitting people, sharing, being fair, say your sorry, wash your hands, and a few other things. But really sharing, being fair, and saying your sorry are some of the most important things you can do. When you hurt someone be sorry about it and say something. Wash your hands, we have heard that more in the last 2 years that it is making me crazy. Being fair to everyone is really important to me. I've thought a lot about that and right now I'm going to get in a political topic. As I speak about this topic know that I only mean respect for the topic. I do not intend to offend or hurt anyone. When I walk into a room, I only see people, I only see children of God. I do not see color, religion, sexual preference, I only see children of God. I can look at any human being and see a person that I genuinely love and care for. My parents taught me to love everyone no matter what. My father was raised in Texas, he worked along side African Americans. He said they were the hardest workers he worked with and he wanted to be a hard worker just like them. He was! He was a very hard worker. In the 90s when I was in high school, he referred to the African Americans by the name he grew up saying. I told him "Dad you can't say that any more". He said, " why it means they are a hard worker". I said, "dad that is not a name they want to be known as so we just don't like that term." I did not like that term so my dad tried to not say that anymore. There were a lot of differences in growing up when I was a child and my father was a child. He was born in 1917 and I was born in 1973. Everything in my generation was changing for the better from his generation, in some ways. He taught me that all people are children of God and we should treat them as such. My dad made friends with everyone he met. It did not matter the nationality of the person, he became their friend. I'm forever grateful that I had a father that taught me to work hard and treat all people fair.
I tell you this story because that is exactly how I raised my children. Treat all people fair. Love all people. Be kind to everyone. One day as I was picking my daughter up at school, she told me she made a new friend. I asked her what she was like. She told me she was a girl with really curly hair. Not once did she refer to the color of her skin. Later I found out she was an African American girl and I was so happy that she never referred to her as the color of her skin. She was her friend because she was nice and they had fun together. I really believe we need to teach our children to walk into a room and see people. We as adults, need to walk into Walmart and see people not different nationalities. I'll walk up to anyone in the store and talk to them. I've been to a few conventions and made many new friends of all nationalities. I love people and I truly believe they are all my friends. It is so sad to me that this world is trying to divide us once again. Raise your children to love each other no matter your race, gender, religion, or station in life. Teach them to love the people that have no money as much as the people who have a lot of money. Teach them to love people. Teach them to see people as Children of God!
In 2 Nephi 26:33 the Lord "inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth NONE that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile."
President Russell M. Nelson prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints says in a talk We Are All Children of God, "We need to foster a fundamental respect for the human dignity of every human soul, regardless of their color, creed, or cause.
And we need to work tirelessly to build bridges of understanding rather than creating walls of segregation.
I plead with us to work together for peace, for mutual respect, and for an outpouring of love for all of God’s children."
That includes people with a different station in life. Heavenly Father does not care if you are poor, rich or in the middle. What he cares about is how we treat others. How do we respond to the bum on the street? How do we respond to someone that has a harder life than us? Question yourself, how do you treat people that are different than you. Can you walk into a room and see children of God, or do you see people that are different than you and judge them? Take a look at how you treat people. This week a woman posted on one of my Facebook pages about a woman that saw her need and gave her $20 to buy her child some clothes. That was a very touching story to me. She went into the store just to look around and her child wanted a toy, she talked him out of the toy, then he wanted some clothes and she didn't have the money so a kind woman asked her if she could buy the clothes for him. What a kind jester! What an observant woman to realize that was needed. What a brave woman to approach the woman to offer that kindness. How many times do we walk into the store and not even pay attention to what is going on around us. I know I do that all the time. Just focus on what I am doing and not pay attention to anything going on around me. How many times do we see a situation going on and think why can't that mom control her child. I don't do that because I know it is hard to have children in the store. But that woman noticed a need. She opened her heart and listened to the spirit tell her to help another human. She did not look at nationality, or station of life. She saw a need and she opened her heart. What a great example of Christ like love! So this next week, open your heart to what Christmas is all about, open your heart to pay attention to what is going on around you. Open your heart to letting Christ like love enter your life.
Being a mom is hard work and we have so much going on in our lives, teach your children how to open their hearts. Teach your children how to love all people no matter what.
Being a mom is hard work and sometimes we have to let our kids make their own choices and we still love them no matter what. That is what I will be talking about next week. See you next week.
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