i am a child of god

i am a child of god,

and he has sent me here.

has given me an earthly home, 

with parents kind and dear

lead me, guide me, walk beside me

help me find the way.

teach me all that i must do -

to live with him someday

(lds hymns 301)

this little girl loves to sing - and every day without fail will sing this song to her daddy and i. it is her absolute favourite and she will make sure you know. she sings it on the phone to her grandparents in qld and my parents in samoa and anyone else who will listen. so last week aunty dominique recorded her singing so my parents so far away, could see this little girl growing up before their very eyes. (you can watch it here!)

this song was always my favourite as a child as well - and when i hear her sing it so cleary, it brings such joy to my heart. i had no idea that someone i work with would confront me about it and try to use it to start something awful - but that's exactly what happened. this person came to me and said that what i was doing wasn't right and that teaching madeline about god and the gospel at such a young age would never allow her to choose for herself. i was shocked, because as far as i am concerned, that's my job! i thought for a moment, before replying very carefully and said, "when i made a decision to bring a child into this world, as far as i am concerned, i made a commitment to teach her the things that she needs to know. i was brought up correctly, by good parents, who taught me the gospel and taught me to love god. if madeline makes a decision to leave the things that are important to me when she is older, then that is a decision i will have to deal with, and i certainly will not love her any less if that's what she chooses to do; if that's the path she chooses to take. but my responsibility as a parent is to ensure that she is taught about the things that are important to me and my family."

i know they didn't agree with me, and certainly don't plan to, but they didn't take it any further and i must admit to breathing a sigh of relief as they walked away. and in all honesty, it simply made me more determined to ensure that she learns everything i can possibly teach her. to love the gospel, to love her heavenly father, to pray and to look forward to sundays with the same eagerness that i do. after all - as i parent, given a child from my father in heaven - that's exactly what i promised to do.