what I have learned from a child

My kids surprise me quite a bit.  Today Rachel told me she had a talk to give next week.  So right after church she came to the computer and wrote her talk.  I thought it was quite wonderful.  She is almost 11 and yet she surprised me with her insights.  Here is her talk:

Jesus Christ Is Our Savior

Once when Elder LeGrand R. Curtis Jr. of the Seventy was a child, he and his sister were playing in a small boat on a river. At first their adventure was fun, but as the boat drifted farther from the shore, they realized they were floating toward dangerous waters downstream.

The children began calling for help. Their father heard them and raced to the boat to rescue them. He saved them, which was something they could not do for themselves. He did this because he loved them.

 This story reminded me of a time when one night I prayed for safety. After my prayer I went to sleep and had a dream I was by myself on a cliff having a picnic. I was done cleaning up when a bag of grapes fell from my basket and started to slip off the cliff and I reached for them. I fell and I was so scared so I acted fast and grabbed onto a branch on the side of the cliff.  I was calling for help when I could not hold on any longer.  I then dropped. Just then a hand grabbed me.  At first I was scared because it suddenly happened.  But when I looked up I saw a man.  He looked familiar.  After that I woke up.  When I woke up I was thinking of the dream I had.  I was first thinking of the grapes.  To me it could have been the scriptures or a picture of my family.  Next I thought about the man I saw.  To me, it could have actually been Jesus saving me.  This made me say another prayer telling Jesus Thank you for answering my prayer of safety. 

Sometimes we make wrong choices and do things that spiritually take us away from Heavenly Father. Our Heavenly Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us. Jesus Christ suffered for our sins so that we can repent and return home safely to live with Heavenly Father. The Savior did something we could not do for ourselves. He was willing to do this because He loves us. In the name of Jesus Christ amen.

I didn't even know she had that dream.  Normally she shares her dreams with Don or myself.  But it is usually a really scary dream that wakes her up and she can't get back to sleep.  I am grateful for Rachel.  She is so sweet.  

Yesterday I told the kids if they cleaned their rooms I would take them to play at the McDonald play land.  They cleaned quickly and we were on our way.  As we were playing Rachel saw a girl from school that she knew.  She is a sweet little girl with developmental challenges.  She is very tiny for her age and hard to understand.  She has bright red hair and she looks a little like Strawberry Shortcake.  Rachel took her by the hand and played with her the entire time.  Rachel DOES NOT judge people by the way they look.  Last year Rachel was good friends with a partially blind girl in her class.  Most of the other kids thought this girl was annoying.  Rachel is amazing.  She really is.  I am thankful for her example.  I want to be more like her.  It was so sweet to see how she interacted with the girl at McDonalds.  They played on the play area.  They played air hockey.  They had a great time and it warmed my heart to see that she was showing love just like the Savior would have.