As the Little Children

"At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them and said, Verily I say unto you, except ye...become as the little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 18:1-4

What do you think of when you read this scripture? Do you think of becoming meek, teachable, innocent, and filled with child-like awe? Do you think about being less jaded, sarcastic and pessimistic? Do you think about showing your affection for others more openly? When was the last time you ran up to someone you loved and, with total abandon, threw your arms around them and said, "I'm so glad to see you!"?

I was observing Addie the other day when this scripture came to mind. "Become like a child" I thought. I almost started screaming and crying and pulling at my pants and demanding juice, but figured that wasn't really what the Lord was trying to convey so I put that idea quickly to rest. As I watched Addie, I noticed something else about children that the Lord values greatly, but we parents often find completely annoying.

Addie loves the TV remote. She idolizes it. She craves it. She wants to bite the little buttons right off of the front of it. I hold it, she goes for it. I move it, she goes for it. I move it again, and she tries to climb up the couch to get it. I hide it in the console and she bends herself in half to try and figure out where in the heck did it go!?! She is relentless. She is determined. She has perseverance and persistence. She does not stop until her goal is achieved.

When we are baptized into the LDS church, we covenant to endure to the end. The end is a long, long, long, long, long time away, people. Life can be exhausting. Our physical bodies don't always seem to hold up their end of the bargain and we get tired. Emotionally, we get tired. Spiritually, we can feel vacant. The daily grind is exactly that - grinding. It can wear a person down. But, in the face of all of these mortal tests, we are to have hope. We are to be optimistic. Find faith in the Lord to overcome our weaknesses, our stresses, the low points. With his help, we can overcome this all.

Even with his help, the promise is never made that it will be easy. The promise is made that it will be possible. Not easy, but possible. And so, I think of Addie. She falls down. She gets up. She falls on her bottom. She gets up. She runs head first into the couch. She gets up. She knows what she wants and she's gonna get it.

When I think of the scripture from Matthew in which the Lord tells us very clearly how to become the elect in Heaven, I think of not only becoming teachable and humble and meek and loving. I think of the good fight. Of getting up. Again. And again. And again. As many times as it takes to reach the goal. I know that I will likely fall short many times along the way. My friend once said to me, "If you forget to brush your teeth one night, do you just give it up forever?" Um, no. That is ridiculous. Rather, you brush and gargle and floss the next day to make up for the night before. And the next night, you brush. You get back on the band wagon. It's the same with almost everything in life. If you don't do it right or perfect (or even at all sometimes), you don't just throw up your hands. You get yourself set to rights and try again. And again. And again. As many times as it takes.

When Addie finally gets a hold of that remote, the joy is evident in her eyes. She glows. She laughs. And she is totally content. Doesn't that sound good? Even with all of the bumps along the way, the reward is always worth the effort.