I have always enjoyed being in YWs. I met a lot of wonderful girls while I was the Laurel advisor. You are able to become friends with them and impact their lives, hopefully. One of my Laurels is now 21. She got married young, had a baby, and now is divorced. She made some really poor choices and now has lost custody of her little boy. She is the cutest girl! Sometimes I want to shake her and say, "What are you thinking?"
Her boyfriend she is currently dating has been in and out of jail for the last 10 years, he is a recovering drug addict. He's been clean since April. They have been dating over a year. I met him today. He seems very nice. His father is the bishop, so he was raised well. He had just gotten back from court. They are hoping that he doesn't have to go to prison. I hope he is able to stay clean for her sake, and his own.
She stayed here over night while her mom is out of town. It brought back a lot of memories of all the craziness this girl has been through. It made me worry about the choices my kids will make.
Will they listen? Will they trust that true happiness comes from living right? Will they ever end up having to go to jail? What would I do?
It is just another testimony of when we live right we are blessed. The gospel really does make life choices simpler. I know sometimes it may not seem like it, but in the long run I really think it saves us from ourselves and our dumb choices. We just have to follow the counsel we are given.
I hope I am able to instill this in my kids! I know they have their agency though. My job is to love them. Although, if they end up in jail, they may have to sit there a while. I don't know. Just ramblings in my head.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Just rambling thoughts of a paranoid mom!!
Posted by Larae Taylor Merritt at 9:23 AM
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5 comments:
SO TRUE!I can't seem to get two of my siblings out of my head lately(you know who I'm talking about)I want to shake and wake them up but I'm learning that we can't change people but we can set good examples and give them unconditional love. Keeping them in my prayers and watching for opportunities to share the happiness that I have found in living the gospel. Boy how I wish they could see the other side of things and it may make their decision to live better easier.
It is also always on my mind to help my children gain their own testimony. I think that this is the best armor that we can give them. If they do happen to stray we find hope that they may return to the way that they were taught. Just some take longer than others.
WOW that turned into rambling from a worrysome sister and mother :)
DITTO!! There is not a day that goes by that I don't stress about if I have taught my kids enough- to know they are TRULEY daughters of God, and the potential they have. But it seems that we all have to come to that knowledge on our own- I just hope and pray mine decide very quickly and don't stray as they find that out! It's so much harder then I ever imagined to be a mom- I don't think anyone can prepare you for the worry and stress mother's have over how their children will grow up.
So sad to hear the news about your "Laurel" as I assume I know this girl. It breaks my heart to think of her and how she looked the day her family was sealed in the temple to the heartache that I'm sure she's gone and is going through. I'm with you, if my kids do end up in jail, they'll be there awhile... so they can have plenty of time to think about the decisions they've made and so I can prepare myself, so I don't end up in jail :)
So true!! That is the scariest part of having children is whether they will remain faithful. Our Faith will increase as we will face these times ahead. Just knowing that I did my part is going to have to be enough. And the earlier kids understand consequences of choice the better they will be in making choices.
It is hard not to worry about things like that. It would be tough to be in the shoes of Laurel AND her parents. I think you've got it right, though. We've just got to love our kids and do all we can to teach them, help them learn to love the Lord and recognize and follow the Spirit's promptings and gain strong testimonies.
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