Finding "Teaching Moments"

Our family had a busy morning...

Gordon left for his company's charity golf tournament at 6:00 a.m., and the rest of us got up about 6:30 to get ready for Ian's "Wrestling War" in Camp Verde.

Courtnie gets bored at Ian's wrestling events, so I dropped her off at her friends house. It was then just Ian and I in our truck.

I invited Ian to sit in the front seat, something I never do. Even though he's 12, and "legally" able to sit in the front, he's still just too little--in my opinion. But today, I wanted to talk, and I needed him close to me.

We chatted about this and that...Ian's a smart boy who has a good head on his shoulders. I love that he wants to badly to do what's right. He can't understand why people make bad choices...he never has been able to comprehend that. From a very young age, he would ask me questions like "Why do people smoke when they know it's bad for them?" and "Why do we have these rated 'R' movies in our cabinet when we promised Heavenly Father we wouldn't watch them anymore?" Sure, some of these questions make me feel more than a little guilty, but it's just because the "wicked take the truth to be hard."

Today we got on the topic of the Word of Wisdom and caffeinated soda. If you know me even a little bit, you know that my biggest weakness is Diet Pepsi. I love it more than a fat kid loves cake. Truly. I've tried to stop drinking it several times, and it just keeps calling to me. I explained to Ian that the general authorities have counseled us that it's a personal choice. I am currently trying to cut way back on the amount of soda I'm drinking--not necessarily as a caffeine issue, but as a health issue. I just plain need to drink more water. He told me that he's made the choice not to drink soda with caffeine, and I'm proud of him.

After kicking butt and taking names at the wrestling war, we had another chance to talk on the way home. I told him how much I love watching him wrestle and how in awe I am of him and his physical abilities. I told him that every time I watch him struggle with his opponent, I am reminded of one of my favorite stories from the Book of Mormon, where Enos "wrestles with the Lord." That scripture never really hit me until I watched my son wrestle.

Ian and I discussed Joseph Smith and how much he loved to wrestle. I told him that I can imagine Joseph Smith, translating the Book of Mormon, and getting a mental image of Enos and his struggle with the Lord. How interesting it is to me that the word "wrestle" would come to him, as it so aptly describes the struggle we all go through at times. How easy it would be if we would just stop being so pig-headed and just accept that the Lord is right--always! I'm sure it gets really frustrating for Him sometimes. I'd be tempted to say "I TOLD you so!"

Anyway--I'm grateful for the time I had with my son today. I know that I need to take advantage of every opportunity to be with him. Our family isn't always the best at sitting down and having "gospel discussions," but I'm hoping that the informal, "in the car" discussions will stick with my kids. Some of my fondest memories from my teenage years are when my dad would take me to the store just because he knew I needed to talk. I remember those talks, and more than that, I remember that he cared for me. That's more important than just about anything.