Out of a slight sense of embarrassment we tend to keep some of the little ah-ahs of life to ourselves. For example, we have probably all experienced the surprise and humor of gazing down at the words of a song we have chanted over and over since childhood, only to discover that the words we thought we knew and loved are absolutely WRONG! “What? Oh!” we say to ourselves, looking down at the actual lyrics, “I had no idea! That makes much more sense!” Sunday services are the classic setting for this experience. I remember clearly the day I looked down while singing Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel, and belting out “ The fight for sin is real,” and seeing, on the printed page, “The fight ‘gainst sin is real.” As little girl, early in my experience of “singing along” I had filled in a place where I couldn’t quite hear the lyrics with a word that made perfect sense to me.
Ethan, age 5, is quite a little singer. He sings while he plays, while he dresses, while he moves from one activity to another and as he sits with his little legs dangling in the bathroom. I have discovered that listening to the lyrics as he sings is not only a lesson in creativity but can be very instructive.
One year in primary the children were learning the hymn, “The Lord is My Light.” I’m sure that the hope of the General Primary Presidency was that each and every child in the church not only learned to sing this song but that the message of the song would sink deep into every little heart. “The Lord is my light so why should I fear. By day and by night His presence is near….”
Not long ago Ethan was moving through his day and singing The Lord is My Light. The chorus is always the catchiest part of any song, the easiest part to remember. “The Lord is my light. He is my joy and my song. By day and by night, He leads me He leads me along.” Yes, those are the correct words all right. That’s the part Ethan repeated over and over one afternoon. Ethan’s mom, Jen, was pleased that her five year old was repeating something from memory learned during last week’s time spent in Primary. She paused as she cleaned up the kitchen and took a minute to really listen. She tuned in just as Ethan sang out a resounding, “By day and by night, He leaves me he leaves me alone.” She applauded his singing and quickly corrected the mistaken words and doctrine.
No matter how good our intentions are as parents and leaders we never really know what a child is taking in and taking home do we. So many of our doctrinal misunderstandings as adults probably started out so innocently. It makes me wonder at how early we form ideas about God, false understanding that goes on for years, untruth that makes such a difference in how we see Him, in how we imagine he views us, in our courage to approach Him and receive the love and direction and power He desires to send our way. I am amazed at the seemingly harmless ways a false notion of the Divine can begin. No doubt, even now in my life the Lord is trying to clear up some false ideas that stand between the two of us. And it’s humbling to think that as an adult I have perpetuated things about God that are not true, by passing them on to my own children, nieces, and nephews by word and deed. It can’t be helped really. We are all in process, parents and children.
It is heartening to imagine that the Lord is listening and watching as I sing out and act out, in my own innocent way, my misunderstandings about Him. It is consoling to know that He is in the business of correcting anything that stands in the way of my coming unto Him. I imagine that He watches and waits for me to abandon the old “ He leaves me He leaves me alone” and adopt and live by the truth that forever, “He leads me He leads me along.” Oh the difference a few words can make in our understanding of The Word!
By Nannette W.
Written, Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Posted Wednesday, July 29, 2008
Copyright 2008 by Nannette W. All right reserved.
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I know this post is over 2 years old but I just found your blog and decided to "start at the very beginning…a very good place to start." and I wanted to tell you know much I enjoyed these thoughts. It has made me wonder about a few of the misconceptions that I'm sure are holding me back. I know one of mine is projecting my earthly parents' characteristics on my Heavenly Father. For instance, I always felt that my mom expected me to be a perfect daughter (I know now as a mother she didn't really, I just perceived it that way) and as a result I feel I will never be good enough in my Heavenly Father's eyes. I need to learn to rely on the atonement instead of trying to earn his approval and reward. Anyway, your thoughts were very interesting and thought provoking. I look forward to reading more…