The real life Great and Spacious

T and a few of his sweetest friends at the field trip yesterday. I love these boys big!

The Ballona docent was b-lining to the back of the pack and directly towards me. If her confident stride wasn't nerve-racking enough, her disapproving face definitely made me want to hide in our field trip surroundings: the smelly, brackish swamp of Marina del Rey. "Is that your son? The one in the NASA shirt?" she asked. Although rarely a purposeful troublemaker, my Talmage can definitely be energetic and is ever a know-it-all so I cringed to guess what had prompted her question. "Yep, he's mine!" I said, as innocently and happily as possible. "He's incredible," she said, her frown line softening for the first time. "I can't believe what just happened."

As the story goes, T was invited by a boy in his class to a water park this Sunday. Talmage told him that he couldn't go because on Sundays he goes to church. Not liking that response, this kid pressed T, saying, "Come on, you're going to church all day?!" Talmage then told his peer that we go to church for three hours on Sunday and then spend the rest of the day as a family. Talmage, the docent, and when I heard this story even I was surprised with how disgusted this boy was to learn about our weekend traditions. From what the docent said this boy started telling T in loud and mocking tones that church was ridiculous, stupid, lame, dumb and a couple of other hurtful descriptors. Talmage quickly and calmly told this boy that he liked going to church and that's when the docent, a fly on the wall of this conversation, headed straight in my direction to tell me about how much T impressed her with his courage and poise.

I didn't get the sense that this woman was a church-goer herself and maybe not even so spiritual, but she made it perfectly clear that she felt everyone should be respected for their personal beliefs and thought that this little boy needed a firm talking-to to deliver this message. She said to me, clearly exasperated, "What is wrong with kids today? Where are their parents? What is going on in our world?" To be honest, that little boy was the least of my concern. From what I know he's a pretty good kid, and he's totally entitled to his opinion about God, church, and weekends. My only concern at that moment was a blonde-haired little boy in a NASA shirt. I watched him easily talking and playing with his friends at the front of the group and I wondered what he was really thinking and the feelings in his heart. Being a believer isn't always easy or comfortable, but he always handles himself with confidence and grace and the docent was right, he's incredible.

Later that day I asked him what had happened and the tears came easily while he was recounting the story. I suspected that the emotion might have come from not being able to go to the water park or maybe even embarrassment that I knew what had happened, but I was wrong on both fronts. "Church is important to me and it made me sad that he didn't care," T said. He's learning such big lessons at such a little age and am I proud? You know I am. 

Recently I read a story in the Book of Mormon which is similar to the experience Talmage just had. Lehi, an ancient prophet, had a vision of people eating fruit from a tree that was more delicious than any food they had ever eaten. It was so amazing that they wanted everyone they loved, all their family, friends and even acquaintances to have some, but a lot of the people wouldn't come. Some of their peers were on the way to the tree but got distracted by the world around them and then some had no interest in the tree at all and instead sat in a tall building mocking, pointing and laughing at those who were eating the fruit. If the fruit-tasters thought getting to the tree was hard, I can only imagine how surprised they were to find how difficult and maybe even lonely it was to stay there. Some left at that point, persuaded by the naysayers that the fruit wasn't that great after all; but others stayed. They ate that fruit, they offered it to others, they may have heard the heckles from the nearby building but they didn't engage. Were they probably sad that those people didn't care? I'm sure. But that fruit was important to them. They knew that that tree and that fruit could provide them with eternal joy, comfort and salvation and so they held firm to that knowledge and to their fruit.

And now back to Talmage. Back to that little boy who heard and may continue to hear the heckles and mocking of the world but is still clinging to his testimony of Jesus Christ and trying so hard to be a light in the world, I want to say, Thank you! and You can do it! and Hold on tight, baby boy! The world is loud and sometimes confusing, but the peace that can come from our Savior is strong and calm and perfect. The fruit is delicious. Stay on that path, stay by that tree, keep eating that fruit, and know that you're not alone. You stand with Book of Mormon characters of old and right here, right now, well you know I'll always be here cheering you on. Oh, how I love you so.