I Am A Child of God

Who am I?" "Where did I come from?" "Why am I here?" "Where am I going?"

I Am A Child of God 

Ever since I held my first infant in my arms, I've always sung the children's primary song, "I Am A Child of God", as a lullaby to help them fall asleep.

Tonight, as I was quietly rubbing the back of my first, (now over a decade later!) to help him fall asleep, I was still humming the same song that I've sung all these years. However, I've thought about the words of the song a bit differently lately.

"I am a child of God, and He has sent me here. Has given me an earthly home with parents, kind and dear."

Although those words are true for me personally; and as I wish they were for everybody; the fact is, they aren't. Even within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, not everybody is living in a happy, earthly home. Most people don't have two parents or families who treat them "kind and dear". Whether within the Church or not!

I wondered on this and asked myself, "How can I sing this song to my children and not feel like I'm creating a false reality in their minds? What can I teach them of these beautiful truths of Eternal Families, Heavenly Parents, and the Purpose of life? How can I answer questions of these things when their own parents are divorced and don't live together? What about when they ask about Eternal Marriage? What is the truth?"

A bit to think about, right?

Remember how Jesus taught, "Ask, and ye shall receive" (Matt 7:7); and, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God", (James 1:5)?

Well, as I was asking about these in my heart, rubbing my son's back and humming, I had this thought come to mind:

The truths of that simple song are still applicable to ANYONE and EVERYONE, no matter their circumstances! WOW!

Here's how: Although we all hope for and aim for that ideal family, with a safe, loving, earthly home, and two wonderful parents in the same household, in a healthy, happy marriage, this just isn't everyone's picture.

But let's look at the song a bit closer.

"I am a child of God, and He has sent me here."

This opening sentence is full of profound truth! We are ALL children of God! Do you know what this means? 100% of the people you will ever meet in your life are children of God. (What other statistics can give you a 100%?!) This means that we have Divine potential. This means that we are here for a purpose. Not just accidently happened to evolve by some cosmic, coincidental accident in space. This means that we are loved. Heavenly Father created us, gave us life, and knows each one of us perfectly, and He has an eternal plan for us!

"Has given me an earthly home with parents..."

No matter our physical "home" settings, Heavenly Father has sent all of us here to this earth as our temporary "home", wherein we can have opportunities to learn and grow. That is how God organized it. That is part of His plan. Also, no matter our current relationships, it took the physical combination of a man and a woman (our physical parents) to initiate the development of, and give us access to, a physical body. We could not be here without and man and a woman coming together.

"...Kind and dear."

Heavenly Father is our loving and eternal Father. HE is kind and dear. This is applicable to everyone, regardless of our individual family backgrounds.
Now, before tonight, the next lines had always sounded to me of a child's request to his or her earthly/physical parents.

"Lead me, guide me, walk beside me. Help me find the way. Teach me all that I must do to live with Him someday."

I see this now applying more as a personal prayer to Heavenly Father. Again, we are ALL children of Heavenly Father, and this can be our individual prayer to Him.

"Lead me, guide, walk beside me. Help me find the way. Teach me all that I must do to live with [Thee] someday."

I felt a lot more peace after I had all these thoughts. As well as seeing a personal prayer in the words of "I Am A Child of God", I also found a way to share it with me children in this new light, and I sang the song again to my son with this new variation based on what I'd felt.

"[You] are a child of God, and He has sent [you] here. Has given [you] an earthly home with parents kind and dear.

"[He] will lead you, guide you, walk beside you. [He will] help [you] find the way. [He will] teach [you] all that [you] must do to live with Him someday."

As I sang this, I felt that these words could be more encouraging to my children over the years when confronted with the more un-ideal realities they'll likely face throughout their lives.

So referring back to those initial questions: "Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going?" We can see that this siple children's song is full of profound truth to answer all of those!

I know that I am a child of God, and He has sent me here. Has given me an earthly home with parents, kind and dear. I know that He will lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way. He will teach me all that I must do to live with Him someday.

I know that we are all His children and we are all here to learn and grow from our experiences. We have been given a Savior, our dear Brother, Jesus Christ, who has come to Earth and taken on all of our sins and weaknesses and pains. He has paid the price for us so that we may continually repent as needed and follow Him home to our Heavenly Parents. He is there to help us. The Holy Ghost can also be our constant companion to help us discern between right and wrong; between truth and error. And we can make covenants with our Heavenly Father through baptism, and within the temple to create a closer relationship with Him that will give us direction, and helkp us through the challenges in our lives. I also know that I can live with my Heavenly Father and those I love again in the next life as I follow my Savior, Jesus Christ.

As the words of another one of my favorite primary songs states, I testify that "I know my Father lives and loves me too. The spirit whispers this to me and tells me it is true"!

Love, 

Jillene