However, the lesson was for me not the girls that evening.
In my zeal to have them “succeed”, I ended up physically guiding the first one attempting the obstacle course. In other words, I took control. There was no following the “good” or the “bad” side. There was no lesson, no growth, no discernment, and no becoming for the girls.
When I did it all for Christine, she gained nothing.
God is so wise to give us opportunities to develop ourselves. Joy comes in our triumphs.
Now, I strive to assist children in becoming more than they were before. I feel tremendous joy when a child triumphs and experiences the joy of success and self-mastery.
There were two plans presented in Heaven before we began our adventures on this earth. One plan was Lucifer’s to control all things and to take all glory for himself.
The other plan was from Christ. He stated that we would have choices and agency. We would have highs and lows, struggles, heartaches and triumphs. We would know opposition in all things. For those times of sin, darkness, struggle, pain, He would personally come and provide an atonement which would bring healing, light, repentance, peace, joy, and love.
In this life, we know hardship and suffering. Yet, Christ has overcome all things and has provided a means for us to overcome all things through Him. Thus, we are invited to know all the joy, the peace, the love, the light, and the knowledge that He knows. Instead of holding us down (as Lucifer sought to do), Christ’s way lifts us up. He raises us up even as He was raised up, but we are raised to eternal life upon a cross.
On this earth today, I believe that there are two types of people who are pushing for the government to do all things for all people: 1) ones who seek power and to rule over others and 2) ones who have bought into the notion that we, people, can make everything better for others and that we should even attempt to do so.
The only way to overcome such tendencies is to focus upon what God can do not what mankind can do. While mankind can now reach out to the farthest reaches of our solar system, God created this solar system. While we can study very far off stars and events in the heavens, God created the heavens. While mankind can “care for” another, God can refine, resurrect, and glorify the souls of man. Through the power of God and faith in His power, souls can be translated, transformed, and perfected. While we can study and occasionally even duplicate life, God holds all power over life and creation.
When we suggest that we must make all things better, we sin, because: 1) we raise ourselves up to be as gods, 2) we imply that God did things wrong and now it is up to us to set things right, 3) we deny the growth of other souls, 4) we take or limit the agency of others, 5) we deny the power of Christ’s atonement, 6) we limit or eliminate the need for the atonement, 7) we suggest that some people have the right to decide for others, 8) we, then determine what is “right” for another person, 9) we suggest that we have a better way than God does to make things “better” or “right” (ie. We have a better plan.)
