Since it was my Lauren's birthday recently, I thought I would share a story about her. This year has been difficult for her, first with moving away from all her many friends in Nampa, and then with coming to a new school in a place where she didn't know a single person. It took courage and work, but she is now friends with everyone in her class and is my happy girl again.
As a mom, it killed me to see my daughter coming home discouraged and weepy every day because she had played alone; so I gave Lauren a challenge: just ask one girl in your class today that you've never talked to before to play with you. I told her to introduce herself and just ask. She did, and she continued to do this for a few weeks, and before she knew it she had a whole new group of friends!
Now I told you that to preface the real story.
Lauren is a very good girl. She always tries to do what is right, and pretty much expects that of everyone around her. So when the kids in her class were using the Lord's name in vain, she took it personally. She went to her teacher quietly and explained the situation and how it made her feel uncomfortable to use the Savior's name like that. Her teacher then asked her to explain her feelings to the class and then her teacher asked the class if they could please respect Lauren's feeling.
I asked her about it today, to see if it had helped, and she got a huge smile on her face and said that no one says it anymore!
I'm so proud of her. What a great little example she is to those around her! Some people may feel this is a bit odd, but I love it. She saw something wrong with her world, and she did what she could to fix it. Now if only every one else would do the same.
I love so many things about my daughter, her clean freak streak, her passion for learning, but her simple goodness is at the top of the list. She always makes me think of Mosiah 3:19
For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.It took a lot of courage for her to say that in front of her class, but she felt so much better, and it made all the difference.
Last weekend we took the kids out for a ride by the beach so Lauren could use her new bike. It was beautiful! As always around here.
This is what Lily absolutely must do every time we go to the beach. She's got to make her mark on the world.
It was a great weekend.
