A Child's Delight

I'm sure everyone will agree that there is nothing like the sweet and happy voice of a child. Yesterday we went to Turlock and visited Celeste's family. On the way, they called on the cell phone to find out where we were and then I got to talk to Abbie. As I told her that I was bringing her flowers from Hawaii she took in a quick breath and said, "Really?! You are?!" And she repeated this after each thing I said I was bringing. Her voice was so innocent and filled with expectation, almost wonder.
And when I was visiting Suzanne, Adam would come up to me and talk in his own dialect, but he knew what he was saying to me. His voice was just as confident as if he were truly communicating.
Last year our family added two grandchildren, Garret and Mollie, and this year we have welcomed Isabel and Kamryn. They are so intelligent. You can see it in their eyes. There is no doubt in my mind that they are adult spirits just getting to know how to use their bodies. Heaven is still open to them and only gradually does it close. They are fully aware of their surroundings and what we are doing.
I have beheld some sweet moments as our grandchildren, Chandler, Jacob, Paige and Abbie have risen to an occasion and treated their family members with all the love they could muster, offering comfort and kindness.
What has brought this to mind is a bulletin board that is on the wall outside our Primary room at church. It has pictures of an activity they had that depicted some of the events surrounding the Savior when he was crucified. They decorated the hall to look like the entrance to Jerusalem. They sat in a Primary room that was transformed into The Upper Chamber where the Last Supper took place and where the Sacrament was first administered. Then they went to another part of the Primary room where they could see how the Lord's body was laid to rest but now was risen.
Pictures were taken of the children and their faces shone as they were transfixed into the moment, re-experiencing those sacred events that took place so long ago but that were known throughout the heavens.
In their very faces one could plainly see their simple faith, and the love they have for the Lord. They felt the spirit and their young hearts were touched. We must never underestimate the impressions made on them.
I also remember as a youngster myself, going to church with my father. On this particular afternoon, we must have been late due to him waiting for me to get ready because we were sitting towards the back. As I sat, I doodled and dangled my feet. But at one point I felt the spirit so strongly that I had to look up to see where it was coming from. Not too surprisingly, I saw a man at the podium wearing a dark suit and a white shirt. I didn't know who he was but I'll never forget those feelings. I believe this was the beginning of a budding testimony. It was the first time I felt an unmistakable witness from the Holy Ghost and I grew to understand that it meant I was in the right place.
I don't recall telling my Dad about this experience at the time, but I have since thanked him for waiting for me that Sabbath afternoon. There is no way to truly express my gratitude.
Our little ones are in the right place whenever we have prayers or read the scriptures or go to church. These experiences are never lost even though we may feel frazzled with the effort that must be made to make these things happen. True delight is in the spirit, making not only them but all of us partakers of the fruit of the tree of life which is the love of God.
Matthew 18:4-5 says "Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven, And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me."
Our family's children are:
Chandler, 8 years old. Paige, 6. Jacob, 5. Abbie, 4. Andrew. Adam, 2. Garret and Mollie, 1 in June. Isabel 8 weeks and Kamryn, 7 weeks.