Parenting

~ Before Ola was born, Aho and I would always comment on the wonderful kids we knew. You know, those kids who are well mannered, who listen to their parents, are polite, smart, talented, and have sweet and funny personalities. We know quite a few. And we both said that we wanted to be the good, hard working parents who shaped our children to be like the wonderful ones we already knew. Of coarse, we also talked about those rascals we would see (or know). The ones who don't listen, talk back, have extremely bad habits, have no respect, and are allowed to get away with anything. And we both vowed that we would try our hardest not to allow our children to become like that.

~ Sadly, there is no book written on how to make your children wonderful. But, I was really touched by a talk our bishop shared this Sunday. It was our Primary Sacrament Program, and in conclusion, our Bishop shared a portion of a talk by President Hinckley entitled "Bring up a child in the way he should go." The portion he shared was about a tree President Hinckley planted in the yard of their first home. He shares that he planted the tree in the corner of the yard, envisioning the shade it would provide for the home in the future. When he planted it, it was small and tender and very easy to bend. However, he paid little attention to it over the years. Then, many years later, he happened to notice it one day. It had been planted where the wind blew the hardest, which had caused the tree to lean badly to one side. In an attempt to correct the tree that was once so pliable, President Hinckley tried to simply push the tree upright. When that didn't work, he attached ropes and pulleys to a steady post, but the tree only trembled slightly. It seemed as though the tree was saying, “You can’t straighten me. It’s too late. I’ve grown this way because of your neglect, and I will not bend.”At last, he took a saw and cut the heavy branch leaning to the west. All that was left of the tree was a single branch reaching upward.

~ President Hinckley goes on to state the following: "The other day I looked again at the tree. It is large. Its shape is better. It is a great asset to the home. But how serious was the trauma of its youth and how brutal the treatment I used to straighten it. When it was first planted, a piece of string would have held it in place against the forces of the wind. I could have and should have supplied that string with ever so little effort. But I did not, and it bent to the forces that came against it. I have seen a similar thing, many times, in children whose lives I have observed. The parents who brought them into the world seem almost to have abdicated their responsibility. The results have been tragic. A few simple anchors would have given them the strength to withstand the forces that have shaped their lives. Now it appears it is too late. It is not enough simply to provide food and shelter for the physical being. There is an equal responsibility to provide nourishment and direction to the spirit and the mind and the heart. Let every mother realize that she has no greater blessing than the children which have come to her as a gift from the Almighty; that she has no greater mission than to rear them in light and truth, in understanding and love; that she will have no greater happiness than to see them grow into young men and women who respect principles of virtue, who walk free from the stain of immorality and from the shame of delinquency."

~ I am so grateful for the belated prophet, President Hinckley. I love that he could look at a tree in his yard and turn it into such a powerful lesson about the importance of our role as parents. Looking at Ola, I know I will never have a greater blessing, or greater responsibility, than that of being a mother. And although we may not do things perfectly, I know we will do our best to make every effort on our children's behalf. If we take the time to make simple efforts now, we will not have to take drastic measures later.

~P.S. If any of you great parents out there have any pointers, we are open for input. Please...share your secrets.