Look to the Children as an Example

One of our greatest strengths and testimony builders through our entire struggle has been our sweet little two year old daughter. She has not only brought us joy, comfort, and happiness we thought was lost, but she has also brought us insight and so much knowledge of the plan of salvation. 

How can that be?? She is only 2 years old. Our Father in Heaven, in His great wisdom and love, sends His spirit sons and daughters to this earth as children. They come to families as precious gifts with a divine nature and destiny. Our Heavenly Father knows children are a key to helping us become like Him. There is so much we can learn from children. We have learned more from our little Az through this grieving journey than we have anyone else. Anyone that knows our little miss knows she's almost too good to be true. She is the smartest and sweetest little lady and far beyond her age. She just gets things that she shouldn't understand at the young age of 2. I know this is no mistake. The Lord sent her to us for a reason. He knew we would need her extra strength, spirit, and knowledge. He was so right! Azleigh is a constant reminder to us that Tytan is safe in the arms of a loving Heavenly Father! 

We have witnessed many sacred experiences between our two beautiful children since Tytan has passed. On many occasions Azleigh has had "special visits" from her baby brother Tyt. We have felt his presence as he converses and play with him. Back in March, we took Az to Disneyland. We had plans to take both kids this Spring because Tytan would have 2 of his surgeries over and was suppose to be stable by then. As hard as it was to go without our little man we felt we needed to take Az after the year she had experienced as well. We tried to just enjoy our family vacation, but each of our hearts were missing a little piece, especially mine. I was feeling so guilty, so sad, and so incomplete traveling to what is supposedly the "happiest place on earth" without my entire family. I tried not to let grief get the best of me and kept quiet about it. On day 2, we went to the beach. Our little miss was running wild having the time of her life. Out of nowhere she came running back to us and said, "mommy Tytans here to play with me and he brought you a gift." She dumped a handful of sand in my hands and said with a big smile on her face, "this is from Tytan". For the next little while she ran around playing with someone, but not someone the earthly eye can see. I know without a doubt in my mind Tytan was there to visit her that day. It was Tytan's and the Lord's way of letting us know he was okay and that physically we weren't together as a family, but spiritually he is always close by. What a testament to me that this isn't the end. Tytan does live and will live again. We have had many of these experiences between our two babies, and I cherish everyone of them. I secretly wish I could keep Azleigh young and innocent forever because I know now the veil is so thin between these two. I never want it to change.

 

Azleigh's faith & testimony of her brother has truly amazed me. She is so sure of where he is and what he's doing. The best part of it is she's not afraid to share it either. A few weeks back her and my nephew Stratton, who is almost 4, were at the kitchen table. Tytan is a constant conversation in our home. Az was looking out the window as she said "look its Tytan's star!" Stratton shut her down with, "Tytan's dead Azy" and my sweet little girl didn't skip a beat before she responded to him, "No he's not. Tytan lives in Heaven with Heavenly Father & Jesus" I couldn't help but weep as I heard her bear her testimony and stand up to her cousin. She knows without a doubt where he is. She never questions it, and she is sure to usually tell every stranger she meets that "her brother went to Heaven because he was sick, but he's not sick anymore. He's happy because he lives with Heavenly Father and Jesus". The first couple times it was awkward and I would try to stop her because it usually led to the dreaded conversation of reliving the past, but I have finally realized how neat it is that she remembers her brother the way she does and how amazing it is that she has that testimony of where he is and what he's doing right now. 

Azleigh is our constant reminder that "It's going to be okay!" She hates to see me cry and immediately comes and puts her arms around me. She just let me hold her tight and keeps saying "don't be sad. It's going to be okay!" The other day I was having one of the "hard days" that sneak up on you. I was sitting on the couch crying looking at pictures of our little man. She asked me what was wrong and I told her I was just missing Baby Tyt and it made me sad. Once again, with confidence, she floored me with her response. "Don't be sad Mommy. Tytan's coming back to us" 

How can a 2 year old be so smart, so sure, and have so much faith in the plan of salvation? I am suppose to be teaching her at this age, but she's teaching me far more than I could ever teach her right now. She just gets it. Yes, it may be in simple terms but that's it... That's all we need to know. I think we as adults sometimes focus on the complex parts of the gospel when we really need to be more like our children and focus on the basic simple parts of the gospel. 

In Matthew 18: 3-4 Jesus Christ taught himself that we need to look to the small children as examples. 

“Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

“Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3–4).

What can children teach us? 

These precious children of God come to us with believing hearts. They are full of faith and receptive to feelings of the Spirit. They exemplify humility, obedience, and love. They are often the first to love and the first to forgive. Next time you are in a hurry... Stop and take the time to listen to your children. Watch them and learn from them. Our children are providing examples of some of the childlike qualities we need to develop or rediscover in ourselves in order to enter into the kingdom of heaven. They are bright spirits who are untarnished by the world—teachable and full of faith. It is no wonder the Savior has a special love and appreciation for little children. We need to become more like them in order to return to live with our loving Heavenly Father. 

Next time you are fed up with whiny kids, needing a break, and ready to throw your hands in the air realize what a blessing it is to have these sacred children in your homes. They are the closest thing to Heaven that will ever enter into our homes. Cherish them. Respect them. Learn from them. 

Elder M. Russell Ballard has taught us the importance of the Savior’s admonition to “behold your little ones” when he said: “Notice that He didn’t say ‘glance at them’ or ‘casually observe them’ or ‘occasionally take a look in their general direction.’ He said to behold them. To me that means that we should embrace them with our eyes and with our hearts; we should see and appreciate them for who they really are: spirit children of our Heavenly Father, with divine attributes” 

I am so grateful for the opportunity I've been given to be the mom of two, soon to be three, of the most special children in the world. In the 2 and a half years of being a mother I have learned more from them than any other. I am grateful for Tytan and his valiant spirit who has paved the way for our family. He has taught us about love and trusting in The Lord and his plan. He may have only been in our home for 6 months, but he forever changed us and continually teaches us on a daily basis. I'm so grateful for Azleigh and her spirit and strength. The Lord definitely knew what he was doing when he sent her to our home. She has been the one to get us through the past 9 months. She is our constant reminder that Tytan isn't far away, and he does live and will live again. What a blessing that has been. And we are so grateful for this new little princess who is teaching us the meaning of hope and once again having faith in The Lord that everything will be okay!