Choose Primary

This weekend I learned a great lesson from my teenage son. We were visiting family in Boise and attended church with them there. My sister and I each have three kids and my youngest two and her oldest two are the same age. That made going to primary (children's church) a little bit easier for my two girls--they got to go with their cousins. 

But my fifteen-year-old son didn't have a cousin-buddy. I totally understand how it feels to go to a strange church and feel a little out of place. He wasn't sure he wanted to go to Young Men's (the teen service) by himself. He was hoping we would go home after sacrament meeting (the main church service), but we decided to stay. He jokingly said he would go to class with his eight-year-old cousin. I told him that was fine with me and turned him lose. Later that day, I walked past the primary room and saw my teen sitting in the tiny chairs next to his cousin who had a big grin on his face. I found out later that this same little boy was very disappointed about something he had no control over and felt that he was left out. What a great gift my son gave his cousin by showing him that he is loved and important. I bet that little boy will always remember the Sunday his big cousin went to primary with him.


Nathan had a choice to make: he really couldn't choose whether we stayed for the rest of church service, but he could choose how he responded to the situation. I was kind of expecting him to complain and maybe even refuse to go to class, but he chose something better.

How often do we feel trapped in a situation and just want to complain or fight? Maybe we should look around us for a different solution. Maybe our decision could help someone else through a hard time. The next time you feel tempted to complain or dig your heels in, consider going to Primary instead.