Be Not Afraid of Greatness

We are almost to the one month mark of Barry being out of work.  We being a homeschool family, anyway you look at it, that is a lot of family time.  Just think about everyone in your entire family home together for one month straight.  With finances being tight, we can't do a lot.  We do school, read, go to the library a ton, go on walks, work in the yard, serve others how we can, attend the temple, be super quite when daddy has a phone interview, and look for jobs. Sound like a dream right!  A few of my friends say that I am so lucky to have this time because their husbands are never home.  I have to say that if I knew when this little "trial" would end, I would probably be a little more joyous about it all.  But there is this worry in my mind that says what if employment is still months away.  How long can we stretch things...really?  Isn't that the truth with all trials though?  What if we had an ending date to every trial that came our way.  We could pace ourselves and have the finish line in sight or at least know when it would be peeking above the horizon.  That would be way too easy.  So a lot of the whole trial is enduring to the end and praying to get through it.  In the mean time growing and becoming better instrument in the hands of the Lord to help those around you.

I think this is so true with motherhood too.  Through homeschooling I get to be my children's mother, mentor, nurturer, teacher.....really there are a lot of hats I wear and some I never take off.  I have to say some days I am a better mother than others, some days I am a better teacher than others, and some days I wish I can just start the whole day over.  But I work hard to do my best in raising these precious spirits and pray daily Heavenly Father will make up my short comings.  Sometimes when digging in the trenches of motherhood it is hard to see the horizon.  Am I as a mother creating fantastic men and women to stand strong 20 years from now?  Somehow, trials help us to measure things up and really intensify the refiners fire.  So I have to share these two signs that were made this week.

 First up, Brahm came to me asking if I could spell "allowed" on his sheet.  Now Brahm is a funny little man.  He doesn't start kindergarten for another year and a half.  He is capable of greatness but wants to put very little effort into anything (unless there is a reward).  He sounded out "NO GIRLS" and wrote it on his sheet.  Well apparently Vallie and Brahm had a little falling out (you have to expect it with all the time we have been cooped up in the house together) and he thought the best way to handle the situation was to place a sign on his bedroom door forbidding her entrance.  You have to know that Vallie and Brahm are like peanut butter and jelly lamb and tuna fish (for any of you who love Rob Schneider) who spend almost every waking moment together.   I wrote the word allowed for him but asked him to think about how it would make Vallie feel.  He decided not to post the sign and work things out with Vallie.  Which I was really proud of but I had to take a quick picture of his sign because I was so surprised that my little lazy boy who fights me everyday on writing, sounded out the words and got pretty close to spelling them right for how little he is.

Next up, when Barry and I were climbing in to bed the other night, we found this note Vallie had placed there for us.  Now I think is absolutely funny that she capitalized Dad but not mom, spelled "want" with a wo even though that word was in her spelling list last week, mixed up her b and d in the word job, but totally rocked the apostrophe in the right place to show possession.  I have to remind myself that really she is just in kindergarten and is doing great even with all the mistakes.  But way beyond writing it shows me something much bigger.  She has a charitable heart and is willing to give everything she has, even if it is only a dime, if she thinks it will help others in need. 

So to finish all this out, one evening this week I was totally worried and upset about our whole situation only to open up the D&C reader with my kids and get totally rebuked.  We happened to be on Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail.  I will quote it (replace the name Joseph with Tara or even your name if needed:), "Jesus said Joseph should not be afraid when he had to suffer.  Joseph should not worry when he had troubles.  Jesus said troubles are for our own good.  Troubles help us learn.  Jesus had suffered more than anyone."  Can you see the big slap across the face I just got?  So if troubles are for our own good, certainly if we stay strong greatness will come out of this.  So my new motto for this trial is from the words of Shakespeare:

Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.