Choices

As a parent I have always hoped that my children would develop their own personal testimonies about Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the restored gospel. It is super that I believe, but ultimately they will have to make their own choices. We are a church that values free choice. We are free to choose our own paths in life. The bummer is that we can't always choose the consequences for those actions, but, nevertheless, we still have the right to choose to do whatever we wish in life. That is a hard thing as a parent sometimes, because I really, REALLY would like to just make the choices for my children sometimes, you know? But because I recognize that my children will have to choose for themselves sooner or later I try to guide them along the path as best I can and hope that they will have experiences that will help them to believe as strongly as I do about this gospel. Watching and waiting for this to happen can be a bit nerve-wracking at times, but it has been rewarding to see this process play out.

I just had to share one of those "Yea!" moments that I got to see as a parent this week. Savannah is growing into such a strong and amazing young woman. She has spent several years in Laney's shadow, I think. It wasn't that Laney was overshadowing her or anything like that. I think that it was just that the two of them were a team in so many ways, and while Laney was the girl who was always carrying her journal or her scriptures around as she listened to LDS music and posted her spiritual feelings online, Savannah was quieter about her religious feelings. Her feelings are just as strong, just not as noticeable when Laney is around. Well, since Laney headed to college this fall Savannah has had a chance to show her true colors, and it has been fun to watch. 

Last Saturday our ward youth had a trip to the St. Louis temple. Herman went with Savannah and Spencer, and as he drove Savannah told him that she was missing a big scholar bowl tournament that day. Savannah is the captain of her scholar bowl team. She loves participating, and she is their best player. When she is there they do really well, and when she is gone they do pretty badly. She always looks forward to those competitions, but we had no idea that there was one that weekend. Why? Well, Savannah decided that she was going to the temple trip. She didn't even have to debate it in her mind. She was always going to go. As much as she loves participating in the scholar bowls, she decided that her church activity was more important. I really appreciated that choice. We didn't force her to make it. It was one that she made on her own. Seeing her make those sorts of choices gives me great hope in the choices she will make as she heads out on her own eventually.

I am grateful for those moments like that which give me a glimpse into the inner feelings of my children. I think that my favorite thing about this is that Savannah didn't make a big deal about it at all. She just made her choice. She didn't need to advertise the dilemma. She didn't need to point out her faithfulness. She just chose to act, and then she acted. Awesome! Another tender mercy for me as a parent. Hooray!