Lessons We Learn Along the Way… by Deanne Wahl

      For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to be a mother.  My mother is amazing and growing up all I wanted was to be like her….in fact I still want to grow up to be like my mom.  When Alan and I were married I remember the Sealer talking to us quite a bit about becoming parents and raising a family. When I found we were expecting our first baby I was so excited.  I thought constantly on what I needed to teach her and how I could best help her learn what she needed to know. Little did I know at that time that the lessons to be learned were mine, not hers. 

I love my children so much and am taught daily by them.  Sometime it is little things like pink and red and green are completely acceptable colors to be worn together.  Or, it is fine to make a mess and say sorry because it will be cleaned sometime.  Or, that we now have a Ghost called “It wasn’t me” that lives in our home. J 

     However, so many times in my life I have learned what our Father in Heaven meant when he said to become like a little child.  Children have this amazing ability to forgive and to see only the good. They understand that life is amazing and always find a way to show me that.

Recently I was taught by my daughter that hardwork is important and rewarding, although not in the way we may hope. My oldest decided to do a 4H pig this year, even though mom and dad were not very motivated. I told her that this was her pig and she needed to put in the time. I was not going to feed this pig or walk it, this was her project to do.  She was amazing. Every morning and night she rode her bike over and fed and watered her pig. She dewormed it, washed it,  cleaned the pen, and walked the pig all without any complaint. As a mom I was so excited to see her keep up her end of the bargain. When the fair came around her pig ended up weighing in 3 lbs. too light. She was aware that her pig was close and when it came off the scale I was devastated for her. I had seen the amount of work she put in and I was worried that she would think that she had failed. As she brought the pig back to her pen,  I waited to see what she would say. She look at me and said, “I’m sorry, Mom!” 

I was dumbfounded. I asked her why she was sorry and she said because she thought I would be sad. She tried to explain that she had done everything I told her to and she really had tried. I couldn’t believe it. As heartbroken as I was for her, she was worried about what I would think! I took her in my arms and let her know I was so proud of the work she had done!  I knew she had worked harder than anyone I knew, and that she truly had done everything she needed to do. Her response was, “Well, now we know what to do next year.” 

     Since then I've pondered this; why couldn’t that be my thinking? I seem to dwell on the negative while my little girl immediately pointed my mind towards the lessons we learned. I think our Father in Heaven gives us the ability to work and expects us to work hard. However, there are times that the only payments we may get are the lessons we learn along the way.  

     I am grateful for the faith that Heavenly Father had in me when he sent me my babies.  I know that I have so much to learn from them and am thankful when I understand the lessons I am supposed to be learning.