Truly Inspired

This week, my family signed up to help clean our church building. I deliberately signed up on a week that our babysitters (Grandma & Grandpa) weren't cleaning so we could serve without distraction. I was encouraged by the woman in charge of coordinating efforts to bring my son along. She mentioned that it would be a good thing to teach him by example one way we can serve Heavenly Father.

I kind of laughed at the thought of bringing a very active, into-everything one year old with us to CLEAN. I mean, wouldn't he just create a bigger mess? I wasn't very hopeful, but I mentioned this to Nick. He said that it was a good idea.

This morning as we arrived at church, I found myself holding my breath. I didn't want him to empty the trash on the floor. I didn't want him eating the trash (just being honest). I didn't want him to climb up the stairs while we had our hands full and end up falling. I was only extremely a little bit nervous as I got him out of the car seat and walked him to the kitchen door.

I started washing some dishes and Nick took him along to start emptying trash cans. I could hear our son laughing and squealing with joy. My heart was happy and I felt a little bit more at ease. As I finished laying the dishes to dry, I could tell my husband could use some back up. Our adventurous boy kept running right for the stairs. I came around the corner to join them and was greeted by the sweetest little smile. I took him along with me as I went classroom to classroom checking the trash cans. He never stopped smiling. Every single time we came across a picture of Christ, he stopped, pointed, and smiled. He would talk to the picture for a moment before running to catch up to me.

We finished going room to room and ended back in the kitchen. I put the dishes away and began to clean the counters. At this point, Buddy was chatting in his little language following right behind me. I started playing some hymns from my phone and he squealed and danced, still right at my feet. He looked down and started picking up some things from the floor. He would tap my leg and hand me what he found, beaming with joy. Every time, I thanked him and he laughed. He was filled with such a joy and happiness that I could not help but beam myself. He was so happy to help.

In this moment, I knew that this friend who encouraged us to bring our son along was truly inspired by God. I know that our son doesn't grasp fully the concept of service. He is only one after all. But what I do know is that he understands and FEELS more than we know. He is still so close to Heaven. He feels the Spirit of God and it brings him joy. He reminded me today of how willing and happy we should be to serve our Heavenly parents.

I am looking forward to helping my son learn more ways to serve. I am looking forward to learning more lessons right alongside him.

Today, I am grateful for a friend who encouraged me to teach my son.
Today, I am grateful that I heeded the counsel of a friend.
Today, I am grateful for a son who has taught me in return.