Lighten Up: A Little Inspiration

I wanted to share a little inspiration with you that I received the other night.

I was reading my scriptures and came to a scripture in 2 Samuel 23:3-4:

"...He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.

"And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain."

Isn't that beautiful? The poetic lines could only have been written by the psalmist, David. I just love the beautiful symbolism in the words.

At first reading, I thought of "He that ruleth over men" to be some sort of government leader. But the Spirit gave me a little nudge, and I realized that I am a ruler over men. I'm a ruler over my children, just like all you mothers out there, and these verses, verse four in particular, are beautiful instructions on what kind of mothers we are to be.

I just love the first line in verse four, "And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds." First of all, the Savior is often compared with the Sun. Just as the sun's light covers the whole Earth, so does His light and goodness. We should be like Him- how would he parent our children? How would He react when your kids don't listen to you or when they flush a toy down the toilet? Also, when I think of the first light of day, I think of words like hopeful, optimistic, happy, joyful, positive, nurturing. I also think of a line from Anne of Green Gables: Tomorrow is always fresh- you've no mistakes in it.

As mothers, if we start each day with a fresh outlook, being hopeful and positive about what's ahead of us, nurturing our children with the light that is within us, being cheerful and helping our children feel the joy in life- if we do those things, then even if the day is not cloudless, our homes will be bright and beautiful because of the light that is radiating from us.

These are all things that I need to work on, which is why I was lead to this scripture. It's not easy to be cheerful and positive all the time. I don't think anyone feels that way all the time. But I do know that with some help from the Savior we can overcome any dark, negative feelings we may have and feel His light warm and uplift our souls.