If You Only Learn One Thing...

My most important job is to teach them how to find all of the answers.

 A week ago, I found myself in the kitchen listening to my 12 year old son boldly declare his suddenly very mature, personal account of how prayer has been his saving grace during this current school year.  His words and profound testimony of that principle came so effortlessly and naturally--almost as if he'd known it to be true all along and had had years of experience with results to back up his statements.

Sometimes I find it hard to reconcile the fact that this kid,who is capable of torturing his sisters and eliciting our most impatient of feelings as members of his family, is also the same being who offers sneak peaks to the large spiritual giant that lies within.

The conversation in the kitchen went a little like this:

Son:  "Mom, want to know why I'm doing so great in school this year?  It's because I'm saying a prayer before every test asking for help to remember the things that I learned because, you know, I get so nervous that I forget everything."

(Older teenage sister sits in the corner of the kitchen and rolls her eyes.)

Me:  "Wow, really?  And then what happens?"

Son:  "Well, I sit for a minute when I get stuck on a problem and after I pray something helps me to remember, like I get a little hint and then I work on that hint and it helps me to figure out the answer!  I still have to work, but I get just the help that I need!  It took a bunch of times for it to start working, but I'm finally figuring out how to pay attention to that help!"

Me:  "That's great!  I'm so happy that you decided to put that concept to the test and that you're seeing results."

Son:  "Yeah, I realized that it's the Spirit helping me and that it comes in such a soft feeling.  I need to remember to say thank you to Heavenly Father in my prayers tonight.  That would probably be a good thing to do."

Whoa! Stop the presses, people!  Can we get a recording of this conversation? What we've just observed here is a 12 year old boy who has discovered that if he prays with faith, that God will listen and that if he then pays attention, he'll receive guidance.  All I could think of at that moment was how different my life experience would have been in my younger days had I figured out this process out at the age of 12.  Kinda mind-blowing, right?

To his experience I replied, "well, if that's the only thing that you learn all year, then it's all that matters.  It's enough."  Of course at this point he's thrilled because all that he "heard" is "you don't have to learn anything else for the rest of year."

Nice try kiddo, but I do marvel at what a year's time has produced in this child.  

Exactly one year ago, we were in the thick of diving into a then unknown and terrifying (for me) world called "homeschooling"--one in which I was essentially proclaiming to the world that I was taking full responsibility for educating my children and could provide better/differently than a school system filled with experts on everything from mathematics to child development.

It was a year filled with worry, hope, and many, many long and tiring days.  There were times that had my husband not been working from home full-time, giving him the opportunity to intervene when things got really rough, I would have most definitely given up. Those kids would have ended up on the front door of their respective schools with a "do not return to sender" stamped square in the middle of their foreheads.

But what got us through--the one thing that saved us--was the knowledge that this process was exactly what a wise Father in Heaven knew needed to take place over the last year.  How did I know this?  What gave me the guts to do something that for us was so very drastic?  Well, I'll tell you.  It's a thing called personal revelation, also known as promptings, a spiritual nudge, motherly intuition, a gut feeling, etc.  It was a direct answer to prayer and it was my job to act on it.

Learning to recognize and act on that inspiration, no matter how off the wall it may sound or feel at times, is the most important thing that I could ever hope to teach anyone.

It's absolutely the most important thing that I think God would have you learn today. 

So, what's the big deal with being able to seek, recognize and act on this communication from God?  Where can I even begin?  The list of how this process has blessed my life would take more time and reading than any blog reader should have to digest in one sitting.

Here's the short list of things that happen to stick out in my mind today:

-It has saved my life.

-It has helped me to save the life of others.

-It has helped me to be an expert in my life and to know when and where to seek help and reinforcements for myself and my family.

-It has given me direction as well as redirected my most geniously-neurotic well-made plans.

-It has given me insights about who I am and why I'm here and where I'm going.

-It has given me the bravery to be honest with myself.  It has given me the courage to change. 

-It has led me to a knowledge of important and universal life truths.

-It has taught me about joy.

-It started a period of profound testing and growth that included homeschooling (and then the direction to send those kids right back to public school the following year.  God bless us every one...)

-It led me to start writing this blog!

-It led to a scenario that taught a 12 year old boy how to turn his weaknesses into strengths.

What it boils down to is asking and then paying attention.  Often that heavenly help comes without even seeking it. The better I am at responding to those gentle nudges, the more that they seem to flow.  It's not complicated, but it requires practice.

Need a little help with knowing how to go about this process?  Need a little refining help with knowing when God speaks to you?  Let's talk.  There are so many resources available to teach this principle of truth in the lives of anyone and everyone.

In the meantime, get up early, read from inspired words first thing each and every morning, pray with real intent, and be ready to act on those little nudges (meaning that no matter how hard, simple, weird, or uncomfortable the answer may be, you'll go and do it).  Practice makes perfect.

So, if that's all that you learn to do today, then it's enough because every great and necessary thing in life tends to come from having learned to live this simple pattern.

Until next time!

~Arianna