Can You Do It Without God?

Day two hundred sixty-two

It was my turn to teach a lesson for FHE.  I have been thinking about what to teach for the last week.  This morning I prayed that the Spirit would be with me and help me to put everything together in a way that the would touch the hearts of my family.

When I sat down to work on my blog this morning, nothing was happening.  I think I was too preoccupied with my lesson.  So I didn't write and decided to just wait and see what happened throughout the day. 

Last week I had the idea to give a lesson on gratitude, so I put on the quote board the following statement:  'I am grateful for...' and I waited for my family to respond.  It was great to see the board marked up with the things that each of us were grateful for.  I thought that I had this lesson in the bag.  

Then sometime during the week another thought kept nagging at me:  You need to talk about the importance of keeping God in your life.  Okay, I can tie that into gratitude, that's not too hard.  But then another thought:  Talk about finding success in life.  This was becoming more than a simple lesson! 

I found some inspiration in my scripture study of 2 Samuel 11-12.  It was Nathan that helped me.  When Nathan was told by God to tell David that He knew what sins David had committed (coveting, adultery, and murder) he chose to do it with a story.  So I asked each member of my family to share a scriptural story that they thought was about a person who was a success.  Their choices were pretty amazing:  Abinadi, Moses, and Daniel.  They shared their story and what the success of that person was.  We talked about what it was that each person did that made them successful.  Answers included: Faith, Perseverance, Enduring, Obedience, Gratitude, Prayer, etc.

When we came to showing gratitude to the Lord I posed the questions: What would our lives be like if we showed more gratitude towards the Lord each day? What if we actually talked to Him and told Him what we were grateful for each day instead of writing it on the board?  Would their be power in this? 

The characteristic that took up most of the discussion was their relationship with God.  What type of relationship did each of them have with God and how did it help them in their success?  

We were lucky to watch three movies this week that went along with this lesson:  Facing the Giants, Skin, and On a Clear Day. Each of these movies had messages that showed modern day people as examples of these characteristics.  It was a nice coincidence and it was very helpful in the lesson. 

The lesson ended with what I can only say was an inspired moment.  What was each of our success stories?  How can we ensure success in our lives?  If we look at the plan we have for our life can we do it without God?  That last question was the one that really got them thinking. Then I took the opportunity to share my testimony and asked them to never shut out God in their lives. To look for ways that they could build a better relationship with God and make it a priority in their lives.  I hadn't really planned on that, but I'm glad that I listened and did it, because you could feel that it had touched their hearts. 

I don't think that my post can tell the whole story of what this lesson meant to my family, but I felt like it was worth writing down.  I know that I learned a lot from this lesson.  It was interesting to be led this week by the Spirit and not even recognize that it was happening.  I love that I was able to use what I was learning in the scriptures, the things that my family did together, and bring it all together with a spiritual moment.  Thank you Heavenly Father for hearing my prayer and answering it in such a great way.  I couldn't have done it without you!!