The Best Part

During the school year Erin was required to keep a writing journal. I've been reading through it, with permission, and I found some pretty cool stuff. The entry that most sticks out to me was the one dated 3-26-08. It said, "The best part of Easter was I got to selodate the resuotion of Jsues Christ! He was resuotioned for us all to liv agin. I love Jsues. that was the best part of Easter!" What a sweet testimony, in the simple misspelled words of a child. Truly the best part of Easter is the celebration of the life, atonement, crucifixion, and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. He does indeed live again and so will we!
As parents we often wonder if anything we teach our kids is sticking or if it is just passing in one ear and out the other. I can't even begin to express the gratitude and joy that overcame me when I read this sweet journal entry. She is listening. She is learning. Her testimony is sprouting and she knows the Savior and what He has done for her. The little rewards are wonderful.
Erin and I had a nice conversation about this around Easter when she first wrote this. She showed me her journal entry and expressed her concern about presenting it to the class. At the end of each week, the kids would take turns sharing their journal entries, and she was worried because of her journal's content. She said, "Mom, all the other kids drew pictures of candy and the Easter Bunny. I am the only one that wrote about Jesus. I am afraid the kids will think I am weird and different."
What a teaching moment. We talked at length about standing as a witness of the Savior and what courage that takes sometimes. We talked more about the meaning of Easter and the life of Jesus Christ. We talked about what makes us different as members of our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and what makes us the same with other christians. It was a wonderful experience. She did her presentation and reported that no one made fun of her. She expressed how silly it was to worry so much about it in the first place.
I was worried too. The school has a strict policy set forth to separate church and state. The can be no talking of God in school. I was concerned that she would get in trouble for presenting her journal writings. I never told her my concerns, and all turned out well in the end. It just goes to show ya, you can take God out of the school, but you can't take it out of the kids!
I was reminded of this experience while sitting in a lesson about testimonies today. We should not be afraid to be on the side of the Lord. We should not be afraid to be different. We should not care that we may be the only one among a certain group of our peers or families that professes to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. We should be full of hope, love, commitment, and gratitude to be His followers, to be witnesses of Him at all times, and in all things, and in all places.