My new job at church is teaching the women's class one Sunday each month. It is a great job. One of my favorite for sure. Today was my first lesson as a teacher and not just subbing for an a teacher. The topic was charity.
My focus for the lesson was more about developing a charitable heart (especially towards hard to love people or people who have hurt you) rather than doing charitable deeds. Though certainly doing charitable deeds can help us develop more charitable hearts.
So what does this have to do with motherhood for my "motherhood" series? Well I have been thinking a great deal about charity and how to find the love in your heart for people who are hard to love or who have hurt you and one thing I keep coming back to is how sometimes our children act "hard to love" and sometimes they hurt us but as far as I have experienced, this does not make me love them any less.
So I guess I am realizing that mother love is a pure form of charity. And maybe if I can look at others with "motherly" eyes or as the Savior sees them, I can find more pure charity for others even those who are hard to love.
What a great blessing it is to be a mother! How amazing that the Lord allows us to have this divine experience of parenting to teach us how to love and give us experience that will help us become more like Him. It is a wonderful thing. One I wish for all people. I pray for those struggling to become parents. I pray that one way or another they will be blessed with this amazing experience called parenthood. It really does stretch you and make you grow in such beautiful ways.
And I pray that I can expand the lessons I have learned and the love I have developed beyond my own family and apply them more fully in my relationships to everyone in the human family.
3 comments:
i NEED your charity lesson sooooo bad. im in the midst of a huge struggle with my m.i.l and just know the Lord wants me to love her or have charity towards her. if its easy, can you email me any of your lesson notes or ideas. you are such an incredible example to me of doing what is right and be a true believer. i know you are so busy and if you can't do this i totally understand. im just looking for help where i can find it, and in this world charity isn't all that revered.
thanks!
chanelkathleen@gmail.com
This was my favorite job also.
Hi Stephanie,
You don't know me. I found your blog a few years ago & was immediately touched by your courage, eloquence, & honesty. I have wanted to comment in the past but felt my words seemed inadequate, especially since I don't know you personally. I do want to say that I have really appreciated your blog. Even now when I check it, I know I can count on uplifting words, never shallowness. Words of inspiration. Not a lot of blogs accomplish this. But you have. Just wanted to let you know. I don't mind if you remove my comment here either, since it's mostly just FYI. I wish you well!
Your sister in the Gospel,
Bethany
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