Ammon

I know everybody thinks their own children are extraordinary, and I'm no exception. My children amaze me. The other night, I went in to check on the kids and make sure they were sleeping. That naughty Ammon was still up reading.

Well, let me back up. A couple of months ago, I challenged our children who are able to read on their own to read from the scriptures every night. Nathan is still a struggling reader, but he works very hard to read a verse out loud (and when I say out loud, I mean out LOUD!) before he goes to sleep. Sarah is also working on this goal. When I gave the challenge, Ammon said, "I think I'll start with Isaiah."

What? Did you read that right? Yes. Yes, you did. He's a good boy. He made a goal to read 10 verses of Isaiah every night. He hasn't been perfect, but he is fairly consistent. He took his Bible with us to California and to Yellowstone. He read every night while on vacation. He has trouble going to sleep without first reading and praying.

Anyway, back to the present. At least the more recent past. The other night, I found Ammon up late reading Isaiah. He heard me come in and looked up at me with tears in his eyes. He said, "Mom, listen to this:

"But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.

"Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee."

I asked him to read the next verse as well:

"Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."

I asked him if he understood what he had read. He said that sometimes people might feel like God had forgotten them. But he doesn't forget. We talked about the likelihood that a mother could forget her little baby and that it is more probable for a mother to forget than for the Lord to forget us. We talked about the imagery of having us graven on the palms of His hands. I know there are more complex ways to discuss these verses, but the Lord teaches us each according to our own understanding and in this case, He was teaching a 10-year-old child.

I didn't have to say much. The Holy Ghost had taught Ammon the important principles in these verses. In his own words, these verses "touched me so gently."

I left my son that evening absolutely in awe of his goodness. And because of Ammon's experience in the Bible, I felt more awe at the Savior's goodness and mercy to each of us.

(the verses are in Isaiah 49:14-16)