Sunday, August 3, 2008

Timing is Everything

During scripture study today my children were having a difficult time. My oldest daughter was tired and busy holding her cat. She kept saying "huh?" when anyone asked her a question, and "where are we?" when it was her turn to read. My younger daughter got her feelings hurt (I don't remember why) and began mumbling/crying when she read. So we stopped. Even though we had only read a few verses, I knew it was time.

In the past, when I've pushed on and made them read until the end, someone, or even everyone, ends up leaving mad and/or crying. I often have to ask myself what my purpose was when we began. Well, for one, it was to bring the spirit into our home, and for another, it was to help my children gain a greater understanding of the scriptures. If I had kept reading today would either of those purposes been met? I think not. Which is why I stopped on a good note. Granted, we had only read for a few minutes, but sometimes that's enough.

There will be times when we read an entire chapter, and times when we read one verse, but it's the time - the time we spend together, what they learn, and how they feel when we're finished, that's most important.

No comments: