Why Do We Bother???

Tonight during family prayer and scripture study, I was reading out of the Book of Mormon where Nephi is recounting the blessings and miracles the Lord had shown the Children of Israel by leading them out of the land of Egypt, parting the Red Sea, etc., when we came to the phrase "The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

Trying the keep young kids engaged in complex scriptural verbiage, I asked them "who is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?" Hoping that at least one of the older boys was listening and would answer, I was joyfully surprised when Peter raised his hand and said "God is the Eternal Father" (said with that cute little 2 1/2 year diction).

I always love watching my little ones make connections between different concepts and lessons they are learning, but even more so when it is something as important to our family as the concept that God is our Father. Some nights, especially late or dad-is-really-tired-tonight nights, we recite some of the Articles of Faith we have learned in Family Home Evening instead of getting out the scriptures. A couple of months ago, Peter decided that he was tired of being left out and insisted that he do one as well. So the first one we helped him recite was Article of Faith #1 "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost." He memorized that one and #2 as well, and it is very cute to listen to him whisper his way through these verses.

On other nights, whether we are reading or just trying to squeeze in one short family prayer, it seems like Peter (to be fair, often all of his siblings as well) just won't stop running in circles or poking somebody or doing whatever he can to avoid anything remotely reverent, and I often wonder "why do we put ourselves through this?" But sweet experiences like tonight reinforce exactly why we bother.