And a Child Will Lead Them
Harriet White of Lamoni, IA, USA
And how blessed are they! For they did publish peace; they did publish good tidings of good; and they did declare unto the people that the Lord reigneth. -Mosiah 11:207
Many years ago my friend Brittany and I prepared the early morning worships for each Sunday of the Lenten season. Although Brittany was not quite eight at the time, she possessed a rich spirit of love with an acute sense of justice, peace, and forgiveness. She was unencumbered by “grown-up” justifications for contrary actions.
We met each Wednesday to dialogue, plan, and pray for our Sunday ministry. We talked about what we felt would be essential for our worship as we led our congregation in a Lenten journey. Brittany and I decided to give our congregation some activities to do or to think about each week to help keep our focus and to spiritually grow during those forty days. I developed a list of suggestions for the adults, and Brittany made a list for the youth. My list included the usual recommendations for scripture readings, prayer, etc. Brittany’s list for the youth was simple, straightforward, and brilliantly challenging. During the week I found myself drawn to her list and not my own.
As often happens when we attend to spiritual matters, the inconsistencies of our spiritual life become vividly apparent to us. At the time I remember struggling with a person who had caused me deep hurt. It happened that Brittany had placed this challenge on her list for that Sunday: “Pick someone who has hurt you, and forgive him or her.” Taking her challenge to heart I began the process of change that allowed me to not only forgive this person, but to see them with new eyes, God’s eyes.
Brittany’s list always went straight to the heart of living a Christ-centered life, understood from the purity of a child’s heart. Justice, peace, and forgiveness require us to make responsible choices with that same purity of heart. Pursue peace, live justly, and forgive those who have hurt you.
Prayer Phrase
“Be vulnerable to divine grace” (Doctrine and Covenants Section 163:10b).
Spiritual Practice
This month, spend time each day noticing where divine grace is already pouring forth. Perhaps it is a simple awareness of creation’s systems and cycles that support our daily existence. The sun rises each day without being asked. There are underlying rhythms and relationships that hold the fabric of our lives together. Sometimes they fall into the background of our lives. We forget to see the natural generosity that spills over throughout our days-of the planet, the people we love, the Sacred Presence in all moments, the kindness of strangers we encounter, and the gifts we carry within. What is already being given in your life? What does it look like to be vulnerable to divine grace today?
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.
