YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND IN ME

I am visiting my daughter, Christa, in Texas. Each morning before their daughters leave for school, their daddy reads a scripture. This morning he read, For I was hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Matthew 25:35-36

Then he said, "All of us can become discouraged. It's important to know, when you feel down, that many others do also and that their circumstances are often much worse than ours. It's also important to know that when one of us is down, it becomes the responsibility of friends and family members to lift them up. So, if you see anyone today at school that is alone or in need of a friend, please invite them to be your friend or ask them if they would like to play at recess. It's important that we lift the spirits of others when they are feeling down or alone."

Their little daughters are in first, third and fifth grades. I have seen how respectful they are to others and I am amazed at their level of kindness. I believe if we teach our children what is right when they are young, they will have the courage to change the world one day at a time. 

It is not enough for parents to provide food and shelter for their children's physical well-being. There is a greater responsibility to provide nourishment and direction to their spirit, mind and heart. 

I want my children to have enough happiness to keep them sweet, enough trials to make them strong, enough success to give them determination, enough failure to teach them resiliency and enough true grit to find their maximum potential. But, the most important attribute, without fail, is to have the privilege of treating others the way you would like to be treated. By Linda Sumner Urza, One fine day