Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Shy Friends



The birds are talkative today.
Bluebirds skulking across the lawn
Robins hiding in the trees
Hummingbirds zooming through the air
Hitting flowers here and there
Looking for a drink
Is it Spring?
Is it Spring?
Is it Spring? They call?
Finally!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Diversity


One day my four year old daughter came home from playing with a neighbor.’ Taylor’s mom makes the best cocoa!” she said.
“You don’t like my cocoa?”I replied!
In her child like wisdom, she consoled me with, “They’re both good. They’re just different.
Years later she was diplomatic with me again when we were discussing the merits of both her father’s and her mother’s churchs. “They’re both good, they’re just different.
I was thinking of this last night when I was trying to decide on the best way to make a quilt. I’m teaching a couple of my cousins how to quilt on face book. Trying to explain something I know how to do to someone who has no idea how to do it is much easier to do in person. This quilt is one I have only seen a picture of and don’t know the dimensions of any of the parts. Looking at it, I figured out how to do a version of it and made a quilt top. Seeing my directions a friend said it was done another way and we tried on face book to come up with directions. So far we have four methods of doing this quilt. They all come out with a warm cuddly work of art.
All are good, just slightly different.
This kind of thing comes up a lot in my life. My husband and I are of a different sex, and religion. He’s a Democrat. I’m a Republican. I come from the less populated Southwest and he’s from big city life on the east coast. I have a large family and he’s an only child. But we love each other and our children. We enjoy the things we have in common and tolerate eachother’s idiosyncrasies. And we encourage each other to excel in our individuality.
Another cousin was discussing with me the different family lifestyles we had. Our fathers were brothers, so why was our upbringing so different. Is it better for children to have to toe the line exactly or be given a little freedom to grow in a slightly other direction. Thinking of my mother’s love of gardening I can compare this to having a formal Italian garden with everything in precise rows, or a country garden where plants grow around the rocks, and trees, and maybe a stream. Both can be beautiful but different.
In one of our conference talks this April, Jean A. Stevens, First Counselor in the Primary general Presidency said,

“It was Jesus Christ Himself who taught us to look to children as an example. The New Testament records His answer when His Apostles disputed who should be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus answered their question with a small yet powerful object lesson. He called a little child to Him and set him in the midst of them and said:

“Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

“Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3–4).

What is it we should learn from children? What qualities do they possess and what examples do they demonstrate that can help us in our own spiritual development?

These precious children of God come to us with believing hearts. They are full of faith and receptive to feelings of the Spirit. They exemplify humility, obedience, and love. They are often the first to love and the first to forgive.
If we have a heart to learn and a willingness to follow the example of children, their divine attributes can hold a key to unlocking our own spiritual growth. “
From my child I have learned that there are many people on this earth that see things differently than I do. I’m trying to love them and accept them as children of God. They are good, even though they are different