Be of Good Cheer

Cooper had a hard time during bedtime tonight. He was overtired and is already prone to naughty-word-spewing, the combination of which did not earn him any positive rewards. As I was singing Sophie her bedtime song, he yelled that I needed to come snuggle him "right now!" Yelling doesn't work so well on me, so I kept singing.

"I hate you! You're the worst mom ever!"

Those words hurt, but I've heard them so often that I've built a defensive wall for when they start flying in my direction. I wasn't going to say anything at all in response. But Sophie turned her shocked expression toward her angry brother and said, "No. She good." Then to me, "You good. He being stupid."

I was touched by her quick defense and hid my embarrassed amusement while I asked her to please not call her brother stupid. But as I laid her in her bed, my thoughts went back to Cooper. He didn't know that I planned to sing to him and snuggle with him as soon as I finished with Sophie. He couldn't see things from my perspective. All he knew was that he wanted something and he wasn't getting it and that made him mad.

How often do we do that as adults? We want something, we pray for it, it doesn't come according to our timetable, so we get mad. We wonder why God has not heard our cries, why he hasn't answered them the way we had planned. Do we ever respond with frustration, as Cooper did tonight?

This has weighed heavily on my mind recently. I'm watching loved ones struggle with pain and anger and what appear to be unanswered prayers. My prayers have been pleas to know how I can give aid and comfort and understanding, but my own hands have felt tied as I've watched them struggle.

Today, during an inspired five-minutes of quiet, individual scripture reading with the kids, I came across Doctrine and Covenants 78, verses 17 and 18.

17 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;
 18 And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.

 Heavenly Father knows us. He knows our wants and our deepest needs. He loves us and has our best interest at heart, even if we can't always see it from our limited mortal perspective. Those scriptures were an answer to my prayers. I still don't know how to give help, but I know that help exists, that hope exists, and that these trials will have an end.

Cooper's night ended with a hug, a kiss, a song, and an "I love you," one for him, and one for me.