The Small Things

My darling little Ziki can be so funny sometimes. He has this obsession with certain things. For instance, he has to take a couple of toys to bed with him every night. Sometimes it's his little ambulance. When we can't find that, it's a small plastic Fisher Price sheep. He'll hold them in his hand all night. If he should happen to lose one in the middle of the night, it used to be that we'd hear him in there whimpering and I knew he couldn't find that toy. He would insist on disturbing our slumber until it was found. When he gets up in the wee hours of the night for a bathroom run, he's sure to bring those toys with him. Then comes the hard part of trying to figure out how to go about his business with toys in his hands.

Well, the other day, he was looking for his sheep. He searched high and low for it and was not going to give up until he or I found it. In my mind I was thinking, 'this is so silly.' I was being lazy and didn't think it warranted my time trying to find this little sheep. I was about to dismiss it as unimportant, when the thought entered my mind, 'Sharon, he is your son. This is important to him. Just because this seems like such a small thing to you to be worrying about, it is a big thing to him, and therefore you should make him feel as if it is also important to you because you love him.' I quicky stood up and went and found his sheep. He was so happy. I've continued to think about that thought and what the spirit taught me that day. How often does Heavenly Father attend to our needs, even when they seem so trivial? How often is He aware of our feelings and is there for us because He loves us. Always. Never does He abandon us or make us feel like what we're feeling is unimportant. Even the trivial things.

I was reminded of a time on my mission. It was preparation day. My companion and I were ready to make breakfast when for some reason, our stove wouldn't work. For the rest of the day, I was bummed. I was craving a delicious hot meal. Somewhere in the middle of the day, there came a knock on the door. There stood a total stranger. She was there to do a check on our stove. Talk about random. We had not called anyone or said a word to anyone. She came in, checked a couple of things and our stove was working again. I have no idea where she came from or why she showed up on that day of all days when our stove was not working, but she came, and she fixed our stove. This was Russia. Weird things happen in Russia. It wasn't long after that we had another knock on our door. It was a young girl who had been investigating the church for quite some time. She was there to deliver some delicious hot potatoes. She came in and we enjoyed those potatoes together and then we were able to send her to the market for a couple of things we were in need of. She didn't know about our stove situation, or that we were in want of something good to eat. Yet, there she was with potatoes she had prepared just for us. That was the first time she had ever just showed up at our apartment, and the only time she ever brought us food.

That has always stood out as a testimony to me of God's love, how He is aware of us and our needs, how even the small things are important to Him, because they are important to us. I can't say I even really prayed about those matters that day, yet, He was aware of them, and He sent two people who were instruments in His hands to take care of our needs.
What is important to my children have become more important to me, because I know that what is important to me, is also important to my Father in Heaven. How grateful I am to know that and I hope that my children will always know that, too.