By Small and Simple Things

"By small and simple things shall great things come to pass. And small means, in many instances, doth confound the wise. And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes." -Alma 37:6-7

This is one of my favorite scriptures, and THE scripture, I believe, that best describes the miracle of a newborn baby. Each time I hold our new baby, Katie Mae, I am overcome with the absolute miracle of birth, of each human coming into this world as a small, perfect being. Equally mind-boggling to me is that such a small person can have such an enormous effect on the world. A woman's life completely changes (or should) when she has a child.

I also believe this scripture pertains to the joy of child rearing. As a mother of three, (and my oldest child being only a simple 3 years old), I am in awe that my life has been forever changed...for the better of course...by the "small and simple." Never in my life have I wanted to be so good and so perfect a leader, teacher and example. I've never loved so deeply or cared so much about making and achieving goals. Even the love I have for my husband, whom I love more than I can put words to...it's a different type of love for a husband than a child because part of you is that child and you are shaping your child daily into the man or woman they will someday be. It's absolutely amazing and, I think, the greatest responsibility one can ever have; that of raising children, passing along to another human being your own knowledge, life experiences and values, and praying continuosly that your hard work and efforts are enough.


You give your absolute all...your absolute all...to something, someone. I've never felt so completely exhausted and yet so satisfied when all my hard work pays off in some little way. I've never been so tried and tested. And again, it is almost comical to me that my greatest challenge stems from the smallest people I come in contact with. How can one so small make such a great impact on an adult? That is the majesty and miracle of Heavenly Father's plan, to confound the "Wise" with his "Small and Simple"....to bring about his eternal purposes.

And, isn't it also funny how what we view as "simple", really may not be as simple as we supposed? What we label as "complicated" here in this life might actually be the unneccesary things, while the simple things are the essential things for joy in this life and eventually for eternal life.

How grateful I am to have three of God's Small and Simple in my home, at my breakfast table, running through my halls....to confound the Wise....and to truly bring about Heavenly Father's eternal purposes in my life.