I have always felt that one of my main purposes as a mother is to help my children reach their fullest potential. I know that sounds like a no-brainer, but I didn't fully understand the full measure of that responsibility until my children started growing up and their personalities started developing and I began noticing all they were capable of. The amazing thing about it is that this process began much earlier than I ever imagined it would, when my children were small. I never expected to notice certain gifts in my children when they were young, but I have found children these days to be truly amazing and it has not taken years of maturity and life experience to bring out some of their strengths, however simple they may be, such as a kind heart or the gift to forgive easily or perhaps the ability to lead others.
President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints shared an inspired message on the topic of helping our children aim high in this past October General Conference. He explained how every person has been blessed with specific gifts and encouraged parents to help children recognize the spiritual gifts with which they are born. He says this, "Every person is different and has a different contribution to make. No one is destined to fail." I love that statement! He then encourages us to help our children aim high.
President Eyring said we as parents need to build our sons' faith that the Lord can transform them into servants "braver than the timid boys we see." Isn't that a powerful thought? He said the greatest gift we could give our youth is to hold the goal of eternal life as families out in front of them. He talked about his daughters, too, and said when he prayerfully sought guidance, he was shown ways to help his "daughters recognize the trust God had placed in them as servants who could build His kingdom." He explains that "God loves each of His children as individuals and sees great and unique gifts in each of them" and tells us as parents that we "will be inspired to help others discover their special gifts from God."
President Eyring shared one way he helped his own children to aim high. He carved personal inscriptions on boards for his sons, with carefully selected scriptures and special dates carved into each board. The boards were designed to help each son see his spiritual gifts and what he might contribute in the Lord's work as he grew older.
I loved this idea! Not being much of a carver, however, I wondered what I could do to help my sons--and my daughters--understand their intrinsic value and have a desire to serve the Lord. I have noticed certain attributes in my children that endear me to them, attributes I feel the need to help them develop deeply and turn into strengths that can be used in the service of God and others. The question is, how do I help my children understand these qualities and help them have a strong desire to develop them?
An idea came to me when I was in Hawaii, of all places, on a little vacation away from my family. While at the Polynesian Cultural Center, I came across a booth that was selling bracelets that had names inscribed in Hawaiian. The draw was that a person could have a bracelet made with their own name inscribed (even with original spelling) in the Hawaiian language. I thought this was pretty cool, but I had a better idea! With my children in mind, I chose an attribute for each child and had that attribute inscribed in Hawaiian on a personally chosen bracelet. The downside was that I was not feeling well and could hardly think straight. It seems like a simple task to come up with a single word to describe each of my children, but I'm telling you, it was anything but easy. I wanted the perfect word for them, the one word that would help shape their very souls and their futures, and so I racked my brain (and my mother-in-law's, who happened to be with me at the moment) until we finally came up with five words--one for each of my children. Looking back, I probably would have done a couple of them a little differently, but all in all, I think it was successful, and hopefully there was some inspiration involved.
First is Berkley: Her word is "Makana," which means, "the gift." She is such a gift in our lives, I couldn't help but put this inscription on her bracelet. |
Next is Boston: His word is "Wiwo 'Ole," which means "Courage." My hope for him is that he will have the courage to stand up for what is right and the courage to be the young man God wants him to be. |
These pictures are all out of order, but you get the idea.
Regyn's scripture was about FAITH. There are lots of scriptures about faith, but for some reason, this is the one that felt right to me. It's from the Book of Mormon again. |
This is Hallee's poster from Christmas, too. It's of Esther. She stuck her scripture in the corner of this, which was pretty fitting, if you ask me. |
Hallee's word was VIRTUE. I just love this scripture! So simple but so profound and powerful! It's found in Proverbs. |
Truthfully, I'm not sure Boston totally caught on to how important the whole concept/experience really was (although he's taken excellent care of the bracelet), and it wasn't exactly the completely silent, gigantic spiritual experience I always hope for as I mentally plan these events, but I will tell you that the experience with Hallee was worth it all. I called her up and told her about her word, "pono," which means virtue, and I read her scripture to her about a virtuous woman being worth more than rubies. I told her how absolutely beautiful she is--inside and out--and how virtue is so hard to find in the world today, but I knew if she would remain virtuous, the Lord had amazing things in store for her. I told her how very much I loved her, and the tears just streamed down both our faces, the air thick with love and the spirit. It was one of those sweet, tender moments you never want to forget.
Now, of course this little gift is only one small step in the journey of helping my children understand who they really are and who they are meant to become, but I'm so grateful for every time I get some sort of inspiration that moves us in the right direction. Nate left recently for a baseball tournament in Phoenix AZ and it was great to say, "Son, remember who you are. You are a warrior," and I knew he knew exactly what I meant.
I've been told I'm a bit intense and that it's possible I expect too much of my children. Maybe it's true. All I know is I look at these kids of mine, and I see all they are capable of, and I know I can't let them down by being too casual about things of great importance. I just can't. And so I plan to do all I can to help them aim high because . . . well, I just love them so darn much and I know they can do it!
Here they are modeling their bracelets (ok, "modeling" might be a strong word, but you get the picture:).