Today's thoughts come from a General Conference talk by President Monson titled “Love the Essence of the Gospel."
“We cannot truly love God if we do not love
our fellow travelers on this mortal journey…The Apostle John tells us, “This
commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.” We are all spirit children of our Heavenly
Father and, as such, are brothers and sisters. As we keep this truth in mind,
loving all of God’s children will become easier.
Usually our love will be shown in our day-to-day
interactions one with another. All important will be our ability to recognize
someone’s need and then to respond.”
-President Thomas S. Monson
Last year, my oldest daughter was having
trouble with a girl in her class who wasn’t being very kind. As she came home
and told me of some incidents that happened almost daily, I struggled for a way
to respond to the situation. Then I heard this talk by President Monson during that General Conference session and realized that this girl may be bullying because she was struggling in some
way herself.
After much pondering and prayer, I decided to
handle the issue by teaching my daughter how to handle it on her own, and how
to handle it with love.
So, I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies,
and as I packed my daughters lunch, I packed an extra cookie. I explained to my
daughter that one cookie was for her, and one was for the girl who wasn’t being
nice. My daughter was quite shocked that she was to give the cookie to this
girl, but I explained that maybe she was struggling at home or school, and that
she may need a friend. Maybe that’s why she was being mean.
My daughter did as instructed, and the
results were magical. From then on, “Two Treat Tuesdays” were born at our home,
and now as I pack lunches on Tuesday mornings, I remind my daughters that they have
two treats in their lunches and that one is for them, and one is for someone
else. They are challenged to look around for someone who is having a bad day or
who may need a friend and share their treat with them. We discuss the results at family dinner on
those nights and I have been amazed at the results of this simple action.
As I packed lunches this morning and added an
extra treat, along with a recommendation for one daughter on who specifically to
reach out to, I had a prayer in my heart that it would heal hurt feelings.
Now, I’m not saying that the bullying
epidemic will be cured with just chocolate chip cookies and kids and parents on
a mission, but think of how much of a positive impact it would make!
It’s Tuesday, so I challenge you all to take the “Two Treat Tuesday Challenge” and to take a treat or note to someone who may need it-even if they haven’t been very nice to you in the past.
