Yesterday, a friend of mine from my mission posted this quote on his facebook page:
”Never forget that these little ones are the sons and daughters of God and that yours is a custodial relationship to them, that He was a parent before you were parents and that He has not relinquished His parental rights or interest in these His little ones. Now, love them, take care of them. Fathers, control your tempers, now and in the years to come. Mothers, control your voices; keep them down. Rear your children in love, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Take care of your little ones. Welcome them into your homes, and nurture and love them with all of your hearts.” —President Gordon B. Hinckley, July Ensign 1997
For some reason, I can’t seem to get it out of my mind today, which is a good thing. He said that he is thinking about framing this quote and putting it up in his house. I’m thinking of doing the same. Sometimes, we often forget how truly special these little spirits are that come into our home, and how fragile life is. Sometimes, we may not have them for very long.
Another friend is going through a trial while her daughter is going through open-heart surgery. Another friend of mine just recently experienced the loss of a nephew in her family. And, yet another was fostering a little baby that they were hopeful they could adopt, and the baby just got returned to the birth mother. We truly don’t know how long these little spirits will be around, and yet we don’t always take the time to treasure them everyday.
I know I raise my voice and get frustrated with my kids way too much. I try hard to be patient, as every parent does, yet it is so challenging. Especially on days when your two-year-old just seems determined to test that patience. However, we do need to do our best to control our voices, and the tones that we use. We do need to be careful to love them while we have them. Because even when they are not taken too early from us, they do eventually grow up, and we want to make sure that we did the best job that we could while we had them.
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