I delight in hearing "why."

swan lake, island park, idaho

photo summer 2012

erin

Today of all days, was a great day.  I woke up in Island Park.  The place of my childhood summers.  I slept with the window open so I lie in bed listening to the sounds of grebes echoing across the lake.  There were no boats, no four-wheelers, and most happily, no sound of a television.  

I went to church in the Island Park Ward where the church was packed, as usual, including all the classrooms in the building.  People who vacation in Island Park go to church--at least a lot of the LDS folk do and I love it.  The family sitting behind me made the whole experience extra sweet.  

Two toe-headed boys were seated with their grandparents and father.  The sacrament portion of the meeting had just begun and one of the boys (maybe age 5?) declared he needed to go to the bathroom.  The Dad calmly explained how they couldn't leave now because this was the most special part of the meeting and that they needed to stay just a few minutes.  The boy protested and the father whispered in his ear (and my ear could hear too) that he could tell his son a story.  The boy agreed and the father asked his son if he'd heard the story of the Last Supper.  The son said no, and this father began to relate to his son what the first supper was and how it made it so that the sacrament is the most special thing we do when we go to church.  He went on to explain concepts to his 5 year old son that were in such plain terms, my ears were happy hearing the son's responses of understanding.  The father checked for understanding of the vocabulary he used--he described words like "cross" and "tomb."  When he asked his son if he knew what the word resurrection meant, the son replied, "Oh I know this one Dad, it's Easter."  His Dad said he was right and went on to refine the definition just a little but didn't demean his son's 5 year old answer in any way.  Sure enough as the sacrament portion ended, the son, although not as anxious to go as he had once been, walked out hand in hand with his Dad.

I think I smiled the rest of the meeting reflecting on the perfect and exemplary conversation I had just heard.  Here was a Dad who knew it was never too young, who related the scriptures to his child in such a way that brought understanding to his son about the "why of the sacrament."  He didn't just tell his son he needed to be quiet because it was the sacrament, he explained why.  As a child who always asked, "why" I vowed at a young age I would never answer a child's question with the word 'because' or the phrase, 'because I said so.'  Teaching the 'why' is important and personal to me.

The rest of my day was great too, but the moment I have just related was my most delightful part of the day.  Walking around the island with Craig and my Dad, fasting for someone I care deeply for, napping clear to Idaho Falls, hearing Christin's 'hug me, hug me, hug me', eating the brownies I have craved for months, getting the ok to go to the cabin again with Nat, finally talking to Matt in Ontario, seeing a cleaner craft room, loading amazing (if I do say so myself) pictures on to my computer from the weekends ventures, going on a bike ride with LB--all other delights that have made for a delightful day.