on nurturing children

I have been thinking about the great responsibility it is to be a parent: the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well being of a child that is placed in our care. Is it any wonder that parents go to bed tired at night? Yet knowing that this trust is placed in us also gives a sense of joy and happiness - to know that our loving Father in Heaven trusts us enough to place the care of one his His precious children into our hands. I know that someday I will go before Him with an accounting of how I have done. Yet knowing that even my best efforts will be presented with such imperfections, I feel overwhelmingly grateful for a Savior who turns my very imperfect efforts into something more beautiful. I have been pondering on what it is that He wants us to learn from being parents. If His purpose is to help us become like Him - then how does creating and nurturing allow that process to take place?

I remember feeling that joy and responsibility when both of my sweet little boys were born. Both the joy and the responsibility felt overwhelming to me to the point of tears. I know my husband felt the same. The sense of awe at taking part in glorious creation, and the sense of feeling responsible for this perfectly helpless little baby.

Now that several years have passed, I ponder and reflect on how I can nurture them better. First, how I am doing well and then how can I make small daily improvements? The foundations of nurturing are simple. First I look to our Father in Heaven and observe how He nurtures us. He has given us a beautiful earth on which to live with water, soil, and sun. He provides for us physically. He has given us families or others who nurture, teach, and love us. He nurtures us emotionally. He has given us language, music, great thoughts. He nurtures us mentally. He has given us scriptures and the words of Prophets. He nurtures us spiritually.

How can I look to the example of our Heavenly Father in how He nurtures us? My husband and I can give our children a home and good food to eat. We can provide for them physically. We can give them kindness and warmth and love. We can provide for them emotionally. We can teach them from our experience, from good books and provide for them good mentors. We can nurture them mentally. We can teach them from the scriptures and the words of the Prophets. We can nurture them spiritually.

Although it sounds simple, the daily nurturing of each child requires a dedicated and willing mind and heart. Finding time to nurture ourselves can be daunting, especially when a parent finds themselves alone in the task of parenting - yet it is possible when we make plans, and reach out to others for support.

For each parent, the work of nurturing can look different. I believe that Heavenly Father sends a specific child to a specific set of parents, knowing that these parents will best be able to nurture this child for their specific mission in life. Perhaps sometimes that even includes knowing that a child will learn from the mistakes of a parent.

So while the task of being a parent is great - perhaps the greatest task we could receive on this mortal journey, I know that we do not have to do it alone. I find such comfort in the words of our Savior who said, "I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you to bear you up." While this scripture is written for missionaries, I truly believe that parents are in a very real sense, missionaries - teaching, nurturing, blessing their children, and in this greatest task, a loving Father in heaven could not and will not leave us alone.