Later, as I drove back from the appointment I still felt a small pit in my stomach remembering the look on his face when I left him. "I never want to leave him again. I never want to hurt him again. I never want him to get hurt again! How can a mom save her child from all hurts??"
I suddenly felt anxious imagining future scenarios that will inevitably hurt him. I felt more uneasy as I considered, on top of that, the possible evils that could lurk into his future life. I want to shield him from all of it!
That night, I was reading a parenting article called "Helping Without Hovering". Near the end it suggested:
"Good parenting sometimes means allowing our children to fail and to deal with some heartbreaking experiences. President Thomas S. Monson reminds us that, "Life was never intended to consist of a glut of luxury, be an easy course, or filled only with success. There are those games which we lose, those races in which we finish last, and those promotions that never come. Such experiences provide an opportunity for us to show our determination and rise above disappointment."The article added:
"All people will face disappointments and unpleasant experiences at some point in their lives. If children can learn how to handle less-than ideal situations when they are young, they will be more resilient and resourceful as adults. Help your children to see that they can develop creative solutions for their problems instead of ignoring or avoiding them."
This made me think. My motherly instinct says, "Protect him from all hurts". But perhaps that has it own 'hurts'. Certainly Eve, Sariah and Mary wanted to protect their children. But these mothers trusted that God's plan--letting each of us decide if we will follow Him amidst all circumstances--was right and worth whatever hurts occurred; and they had faith that there was a balm to heal.
