Agency Bites Me. And then teaches me.

Yesterday we had the missionaries over and watched the film, The Testaments: Of One Fold & One Shepherd. Powerful teaching tool... we've watched it several times before, but the kids grasp different lessons from it every time. And I bawl like a baby every time when it gets to the part depicting Christ in the Americas loving, talking, and blessing all the children.

Lexie sat there next to Curt the whole time and just soaked the story line in as she fired question after question putting the pieces of it together. She was trying to understand "why that guy, Jacob, would even want to make bad choices and follow Korihor and the adversary." A good lesson in Agency...

Fast forward to tonight....

Curt asked Lexie to say the family prayer. She declined and threw somewhat of a fit. I then went into that little lecture we've all given about obedience... that when Mom & Dad ask them to do something, they don't question, don't argue, and don't throw a fit, but happily say 'yes' {like the obedient little robots we were when we grew up kind of thing}...

So after Monson then says the prayer, (we were gonna be kneeling there for hours if we held her to it) I go upstairs to tuck the girls in and have a little conversation with Lexie.

".....Lexie, when Daddy asks you to do something, you need to make good choices and not follow the adversary" {interrupted}

"Well, Mom, you're the one who is following the adversary by not giving me a choice. He doesn't want us to have choices and you didn't want me to have a choice either." {pinky promise...exactly the words she used}

I've got nothin'.

What do I say to that? She's FIVE. She's one of those kids that just has a keen awareness of simple truths and principles... it's like she remembers things from her pre-mortal existence and grasps and applies them easily. Again and again. It was a special Mommie-moment of gratitude for these special children that have been sent to our family.

At the end of a day full of teaching, correcting, nagging, loving, and often times more than frustrating day of just working... for them, it was a tender moment for me to have this reminder that children have so much light, faith, and truth. And they need to be treated as such. {Not like the little robots that we sometimes think they ought to be}.

She just gets it. And she sure put me in my place with that simple reminder of Agency. Guess what lesson I'm teaching in Relief Society on Sunday? The Freedom to Choose. Thanks for the opener, Senorita Snappy Pants!