The power of kindness

Elle, Eden and I are sitting in the kitchen eatin lunch. Elle asked me if Heavenly Father has power (she saw a picture if Christ healing someone "and that was his power. So I started thinking about power." )

"Yes, he does." I answered.

"Why don't we have power?"she asked.

"We do." I was about to go on, but she beat me to it.

"You mean kindness?" YES!!!!

George Albert Smith said, "Live in such a way, in love and kindness, that peace and prayer and thanksgiving will be in your homes together. Do not let your homes just be a place to hang your hats at night and get your meals and then run off some place else but let your homes be the abiding place of the Spirit of the Lord.

I pray that we may be filled with that spirit that comes from [the Lord], and that is a spirit of love, of kindness and helpfulness and of patience and forbearance. Then, if we keep that spirit with us in our homes, our boys and girls will grow up to be what we would like them to be....

Kindness is the power that God has given us to unlock hard hearts and subdue stubborn souls and bring them to an understanding of His purposes....Let us not complain...because they do not do what we want them to do. Rather let us love them into doing the things that our Heavenly Father would have them do. We can do that, and we cannot win their confidence or their love in any other way."

It's amazing to me to watch this power at work in our home. My kids teach me so much about it every day--including each other with their friends, hugging and kissing each other before they leave to go anywhere, complimenting each others' successes, forgiving quickly and completely. But when we mess up and forget to use our "power", its absence is keenly and immediately felt.

Eden has been pretty emotional since Hope arrived, crying over little things that would never have bothered her before, not wanting to leave me to go to preschool, stuff like that. I have been trying extra hard to praise her for every good thing she does to help her through this adjustment. One day, after I had complimented and hugged her for the entire morning, she did something she wasn't supposed to do. I left kindness aside for just a minute to scold her and her eyes filled with tears. "But I thought I was your big helper!" She sobbed. I kicked myself and hugged her, apologizing for my snappy rebuke.

Yes, kindness is a great power. What a shame to let it go unused, even for a minute.