One of the greatest ways that I see the tender mercies of the Lord is through the thoughts that He puts in my heart and the knowledge that He shares with me through the promptings of the Spirit. Over the last few days, my thoughts have been turned toward one of God's grandest blessings and miracles: children. Children are little miracles that teach us too many lessons to recount in just one blog post.

The way that we feel about our children is a vital reminder to us of how God feels about us, His children. Just the same, as a child, the way we feel about our parents reminds us how we should feel toward and interact with our Father in Heaven. It would be ridiculous to call this similarity an accident or a coincidence. God has given us earthly relationships that are a pattern for eternal relationships. Through giving us a mortal relationship that our finite minds can experience and understand, the Lord is able to help us gain insight into our eternal relationship with Him. By drawing comparisons between these earthly and heavenly relationships, we can strengthen our relationship with Heavenly Father and draw near unto Him.

I have seen in my own life that as I improve my understanding of the relationship between me and God, and the unique roles that each of us plays in that relationship, that bond is strengthened. My prayers improve and become more frequent. My thoughts are turned toward God more often. My tendency to think before I act or speak grows. I see myself improve in every aspect of my life because my relationship with my Creator and Father in Heaven is stronger.

As I have observed my daughter over the last few days and looked for insight into the plea in the scriptures to become like little children, I have learned a lot about why God instructs us to become as little children. Although my daughter is still quite young, I have noticed her watching and studying what I do. And then, she copies me. She wants to be like me!

Do I study about God? Who He is? What He does? Do I then try to implement those things that I learn from studying about Him and try to become more like Him? Not nearly as much as I should. I get busy and distracted - especially around this time of the year that is so busy for moms. I am grateful for this tender reminder that came to me this past week and in such a timely matter. Presents and decorations are wonderful parts of the Christmas season, but they fade. The gift of a better person would be the best gift that I could give to both my family and to my Heavenly Father.

Recently, my daughter has started giving me hugs as tightly as she can and giving me kisses on the cheek. It means so much to me to know that she loves me. She can't even speak, and yet, she is able to express to me that she loves me and needs me. I cherish these moments. Sometimes, we may feel that we are limited in our ability to show God that we love Him. We aren't in His physical presence, which makes it feel more difficult to find those ways to reach out and love Him. But, yet again, we can learn a lesson from the children! If we dig deep inside ourselves, we can find different ways to express love, even though we may be limited by our current state.

I love my Heavenly Father and I want to become like a child so that I can return and be with Him again. I believe that He admonishes us to become as children so many times in the scriptures because there are many life lessons to be learned through the precious example of little ones. We are to Him as our children are to us. He should be to us as our parents are to us. This Christmas season, it is my hope and prayer that we can reach out to our Father and try to be a little better. May we search for and find the child that lies within each of us.