what is a squiggle?

According to fifth-grade teacher Mrs. Hill, a squiggle is a beginning point, a small, wiggly line on a page with the potential to become something more--a brilliantly drawn fifth-grade picture!



A beginning point. A silly phrase from my preschooler, my teenager rolling his eyes, or my kindergartner deleting my entire 3rd chapter...



Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Scripture Squiggle: Mosiah 3:19

"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

Children find joy in the simplest tasks. My young toddler finds great pleasure in carrying the tied plastic bag containing his soiled diaper out to the trash. In fact, he screams if I try to do it without him. Taking out a dirty diaper isn't something anyone would normally see as exciting, but he tosses the bag into the garbage can and claps his hands, a grin lighting his face.

My days would be far less tedious if I could view all my unpleasant chores with my toddler's joy. What can I clap about when I'm faced with the sink full of dishes? Or the mound of laundry, which only gets bigger in the wintertime? What about sweeping, mopping and vacuuming the endless messes my children track around the house? How can I find joy in cleaning the toilet shared, among others, four boys with terrible aim?

As I go throughout this week, I think I'll try a little harder to see the joys in my daily life. Like gratitude for the food that fills those dirty dishes and the happiness I get from spending the dinner hour with my family. Gladness for the clothes that keep us warm when the weather turns cold. Remembering how much I love those children that bring the dirt and sticky messes with them. And overwhelming joy that those boys are no longer in diapers.