Footsteps of Others

My son Bryce’s room was a disaster. He was eleven, and his dirty clothes were strewn all over his room. I thought I was clever for putting a hamper that looked like a basketball hoop in his room. Either he was a terrible shot, or he had forgotten about the existence of the hamper. I was sick of the mess and the smell. During family council, I let all the kids know I would only wash the clothes in their hampers. Clothes on the floor wouldn’t be washed.   Two weeks later, Bryce came to breakfast in his pajamas on a school day. The rule at our house was that they could eat breakfast after they were dressed. I asked him if it was a pajama day. He said it wasn’t, and that he didn’t have any clean clothes. I told him I was sorry to hear that. I reminded him I had washed all the clothes in the hamper three days ago. The light dawned on him. His hamper had dust on it. He then said, “I can’t wear pajamas to school. What am I going to wear?” I could muster some concern for his predicament and sent him back to his room. When he came out of his room in his church clothes (minus the tie), I was a bit surprised but hid it. He went to school that way, and his dirty clothes seemed to make it in the hamper after that. I’ve often wondered what others said to him that day. It was great that he learned a lesson without me saying anything to him. Kerry Eaton, La Luz, New Mexico, USA (Used with permission)

We can learn to be more like Jesus even (or especially) in our families. Joy can be found when we work towards this type of love. C. Max Caldwell said the following about the love of Jesus Christ, “Jesus’ love was inseparably connected to and resulted from his life of serving, sacrificing, and giving on behalf of others. We cannot develop Christlike love except by practicing the process prescribed by the Master” (“Love of Christ,” Ensign, Nov. 1992). We don’t have a finite amount of love to share. Love isn’t wasted. Love increases the more we learn to share it. We don’t have to save our love for the strangers we meet on the road to Jericho. This road goes straight through our own living rooms. Love begins at home.  But sometimes, we don’t see that the things we do at home are important to the Lord. We think we have to do big things for orphans in foreign lands to have it count. Doing these types of things are good, but the work we do in the home is important to God. My friend, Ann, was feeling burdened with all the care her young family needed and wanting to help more with service projects around Christmastime. She shares what she learned about serving her family in the following quote:  The admonition “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:40) applies to my work as a mother. I have learned that when we are called to serve our fellow men, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick, we don’t have to leave our own homes. We feed our hungry little ones with the meals we prepare, clothe their nakedness with the piles of clean laundry we do, and who better than a mother to visit them in their beds when they burn with fever or cough all night?  Sometimes, we burden ourselves with tasks that were never meant to be ours. Although it is noble to serve and love a stranger as Christ would, we will be blessed when our primary focus is on loving the precious little ones God has entrusted to our care.   Ann Lindner, Warrensburg, Missouri (Used with permission)   What a beautiful, tender mercy from God when Ann needed it most! Keeping this scripture and perspective in mind may help us to serve our families with more love. We know that, “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17). By considering the work we do at home as a service to God, we can find joy in everyday tasks that support our families. Washing the dishes and doing laundry becomes something we can do for Jesus and our Heavenly Father. We can have love in our hearts as we do these things. This can bring us comfort and even joy knowing we are serving one of the least of these and thus serving our God. Serving our families gives us a chance to practice what the Master prescribed.

I was serving in the nursery, and it was snack time. I loved watching the children’s personalities come out as they ate. Some kids dipped their crackers in their drinks and had to hurry to get it to their mouths before it fell apart. Others lined their fish up before they ate them or they made the fish swim to their mouths. Snack time with little kids always makes me smile. My heart changed when I watched a sweet girl named Brooklyn Ragsdale share her snack with the boy next to her. She was taking teeny bites of her small cookie and enjoying each tiny bite. The boy next to her ate his cookie rather quickly. Brooklyn saw that he wanted more. She broke her cookie in half and gave it to him with a smile on her face. It was an automatic response for her. She even patted him on the back after she gave it to him, just needing to give him a bit more of her love. Such a sweet gesture. The teacher closest to her leaned down and thanked her for sharing with a warm smile on her face that was full of love for little Brooklyn. The adults in the room smiled at each other knowing we had witnessed a disciple of Christ. Children show us the way! I wondered why this was her automatic response and I realized that it was partly her nature. The light of Christ was so evident in her countenance and such a beautiful part of her. It was also because she had parents that exhibited this type of behavior. Letting our children see us exhibiting some of the Savior’s attributes helps them to learn of Him and see His gospel in action. When we see our children’s attempts to be Christlike, we can acknowledge their efforts. Her parents acknowledged and encouraged this type of love, and it was such a beautiful part of Brooklyn. Her actions changed my heart and made me want to be more like her. I wanted my response to someone’s need to be automatic like it was with her. She put the needs of others first and was willing to share. Jesus understood their goodness and pointed us to look to them to fight our worldly, selfish tendencies. Children can truly show us the way!