My Moment with Megan

This post is just for me. I didn't want to forget the moment; I had to journal it.

"True Happiness & Sheer Joy"

So, my mother's day wasn't all crappy. Actually, there were some really good highlights. But, perhaps the biggest highlight for me today was the small moment that I had with Megan. She is, no doubt, my most stubborn child. And most of the time, her and I are butting heads on just about everything. She has a little bit more spunk and individuality than my other kids. And although it was mother's day, it wasn't any different day for her.

Jason had to walk over to his brother's house to take care of him and all of the kids wanted to go with him. I told all of the kids that if they wanted to go with him they had to get their jackets and socks & shoes on because it was a little chilly out. Bryson and Kimberly didn't hesitate to do what was asked of them, but Megan told me that she wasn't cold and she didn't need a jacket. When I asked her to get one on, she again told me that she didn't need one and wasn't going to wear one. So, I just told her, "That's fine. Then I guess you don't need to go with Dad." She quickly changed her tune and went to get a jacket, not knowing that her opportunity had, in fact, been taken away. Needless to say that she was quite upset when she found out that she DIDN'T get to go, no matter how much pleading, and backtracking, she tried to do.

So, Jason took Bryson and Kimberly and left Megan on the living room floor sobbing. My first reaction wasn't going to be very nice (given that I didn't feel good). But, I quickly changed my mood and decided that I needed to take this prime opportunity to have a moment with Megan, and to teach her something.

I sat her up on my lap and had her look me square in the eye. I then told her how much I loved her and how special she was to me. We both just cried together. The little spirit that is within her that often fights me, doesn't hear how much I love her enough. I wanted her to KNOW it and to FEEL it. I know that SHE knew that I meant it, and she felt it to. I then explained the GOOD CHOICE = GOOD REWARD (Consequence - THUMBS UP), and the BAD CHOICE = BAD REWARD (Consequence - THUMBS DOWN) scenarios. And I showed her how Good choices can't have BAD Rewards, and that Bad choices can't have GOOD Rewards - BECAUSE THEY JUST DON'T MATCH! (Thank you SO much, AMY!) And she truly GOT it. She understood me!

She knew that Heavenly Father and Jesus want her to make GOOD choices, and that she could get help making good choices by praying for help. She wants to make good choices. We also talked about how Lucifer wants us to make BAD choices. We talked about how jealous he was of us and how much he wanted us to NOT be happy, because WE made a GOOD choice to come to earth and get a BODY, and he didn't get that GOOD REWARD because he made a BAD CHOICE.

It was so refreshing to see her grasping the concept in her eyes, and hoping that she was grasping it in her heart as well. I truly felt like we were having a moment. Where I was breaking down a few walls that I had let Lucifer build up between us (and she's only 5!), but it's true. It has been several days since our talk and she is SLOWLY transforming her behavior into making Good choices! She still struggles to ALWAYS make good choices, but at least she UNDERSTANDS now when she doesn't get to participate in a GOOD reward after making a BAD choice. I don't fight her over it anymore. She just gets it. And she is trying harder to make a GOOD choice THE FIRST TIME. Do you think if Satan had a chance to go back he would make the same choice???





This is so much like our lives as adults. If we don't learn while we are young, the concept of making good choices over bad choices, and how the choice we makes affects the rewards that we get... our teen years on up (until we figure it out) will be spent in misery. You see, the adversary is SO good at what he does. He lets us think that even making bad choices can yield Good Rewards. However, His Good Rewards aren't really GOOD. They just appear to be. He is the great illusionist! (Beware of those that call evil - good, and good - evil).

GOOD REWARDS are those that bring us TRUE HAPPINESS and SHEER JOY - which is only given from our Heavenly Father! And making GOOD CHOICES will ALWAYS yield GOOD REWARDS. That is the beauty of OBEDIENCE! Ahhh... our Family Home Evening lessons for the last month. Hopefully this principle will stick... as it is vital for our salvation!



Pictures of Megan I took to remind her of how Heavenly Father can help us!