Thursday, September 28, 2017

Touching Heaven


We had a powerful moment during family prayers tonight and I want to make sure it is documented for the years to come.

Ben asked Reid to give our Family prayer right before bedtime. He agreed as he kneeled proudly in the center of the room. The rest of us had our usual head-buried-in-the-couch position. I noticed Reid was speaking slowly and choosing his words really deliberately. I had a thought enter my mind, and it was something simple like "How sweet that he is taking this so seriously." At that same moment, he kind of paused, it felt like he was searching for the right words. His next sentence wasn't anything profound or even that different from normal. Then he went ahead and closed and our usual tuck in chaos ensued. 

I told the kids I was going to stay on my knees and pray for kindness before I followed them to their room. Because seriously, sometimes it's that final minute of tucking them in bed that irritates me the most. Ah! I insisted Nell and Coraline head right to their room (they'd only go after I promised I'd soon follow). As I was herding them away, Reid looked at me and said "Wow, I was taking that really seriously."

I pulled him toward me and gave him a big hug (his sisters were gone by now). I told him I had noticed that as well. Then he started to tell me how he felt like he'd been hugged during his prayer. I knew right in that moment that he needed a serious talk about those feelings, but I also knew his sisters would start screaming for me. So I gave him one more tight squeeze and asked him if he knew where that feeling came from. "The Holy Spirit," he replied. Then I asked him to go talk to Daddy a little bit more about all of it. Ben was just a few feet away and had certainly heard the start of our conversation. 

I suppose I really should have Ben type up this story. But once they were all in bed I came out and asked Ben what Reid had to say. 

"It was really cool actually. He said he felt something really warm. 'It was like my blanket was being wrapped around me but my blanket wasn't really there.' He said he paused to think about what he should say but then he heard this voice say 'I'm really proud of you for taking this so seriously.' So we talked about the different ways Heavenly Father speaks to us. I said 'Buddy, that is proof Heavenly Father really does listen to our prayers. Prayers are a way for us to talk together."  

My children, like most, can be pretty robotic during their prayers. My children, like most, can act pretty goofy when their parents (or Church leaders) try and teach them gospel truths. But my children, like most, pick up on those precious laws of Heaven. And in return, Heaven speaks to them. 

It was truly such a powerful moment. And it's amazing to me that so many of us participated in that prayer without even knowing our Father in Heaven was speaking directly to one of us. Nell and Coraline went on their way as usual. Ben said he felt bad because he hadn't really noticed Reid was trying harder than usual. I picked up on his deep search for the right words, but then I kind of skipped past it because he didn't say anything profound afterword. 

Yet something deeply profound did happen. Reid reached up and touched heaven. He did this from the comfort of our living room, amidst all the chaos of our regular bedtime routine. He had an extraordinary moment in an ordinary minute. I'm so thankful he can build a strong testimony on something as simple as our family prayer. 

1 comment:

Claudia said...

Love that sweet boy and his sweet little spirit!

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