Our Scary Mothers Day Eve

Our mothers day stroll today....a much safer and happier night than last.

Last night our little family stopped by a nearby grocery store to get some last minute food items for our Mothers day celebration. While we were buying our food at the self checkout kiosk in the front of the store (by the customer service desk where everything happened!!!!), someone started shooting a gun. Everywhere around us people were screaming but all we could think about were our boys and their safety. Because we were in a spot that was so vulnerable to everything and near enough to the exit, we grabbed our boys and ran. By the time the shots ended (there were about eight), we Siegs were out the door and making a break for our car. Earlier that week, I strained a muscle in my leg in attempts to get back in shape. However, when the gun started firing, I was able to carry Mason and sprint with the best of them. Adrenalin is an amazing thing!

Poor Mason was very scared by everything. It was clear that he new exactly what had happened even though we tried our best to pretend like everything was fairly normal. It broke our hearts to hear our little boy (who up until this point thought every new face was a friend) talk about the shooting. "He mean! Guns shooting at Mason! I hate them!" Even though we knew that we were physically safe, James and I were very concerned for our little boy not being too effected by this terrifying incident and were at a loss of what to do.

I can't relate exactly how out of control this shooting made me feel. In every way, when I was trying my best to take my boys to safety and then help Mason afterward, I felt inadequate. It is amazing how under prepared we parents really are to raise our little ones.We do our best to help them learn and grow, but really, we are just figuring it all out as we go along. This task can be so daunting! This experience has reminded me as a mother, how vital it is to stay close to the spirit. We might not know that to do, but Heavenly Father does. And he won't ever leave us to do this important task by ourselves.

Last week in church, one of my favorite people, Angie, talked about the miracle of Christ feeding the five thousand. She read to us from John chapter six (verses five through thirteen), when the little boy brings his five barley loaves and two small fish to help feed the hungry crowd. It reminded me of the scripture in the Book of Mormon, Alma 37:6-7, where it says that "...by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." There were probably more people there who had at least the same meager amount of food to offer up to the cause, but they didn't step forward. The small and simple boy did, and with his help, a miracle occurred.

I know that we mothers (and all women are mothers) can see miracles come about in the lives of our little ones if we continue to stay close to the Lord and use and teach the tools given to us through the atonement of Christ. Bad things will come and go but we can still succeed in helping our children become their potential. We don't need to beat ourselves up and feel guilty that we are not perfect or that we don't know everything. Our five barley loaves and two small fish are enough and to spare because of our Savior. "Sweet is the peace the Gospel brings..."

***For the story on what went down at Smiths, go here.