Thank Goodness For FHE!!!

Tonight we had a very good experience with our little family. We had a very long and trying day. I have been sick, Matt wasn't feeling well and the kids were just out of sorts. Claire was having an especially hard day emotionally. Claire has always struggled a little more than kids her age. She is very sensitive to her emotions, fears, challenges, etc. Today she was crying over things that had happened last summer and it amazed me that at 5 years old she could remember what we would think to be trivial things and worry about them. Tonight we came home from grocery shopping and hurried our way through dinner and sat down to have family home evening. Claire wanted to learn about money. She is always asking for treats and toys at the store and I am always telling her we don't have enough money. Well, that answer is just not good enough for a kid as smart as she is so she wanted to know where the money was! As we started our family home evening, everyone was crying and screaming. I almost didn't continue because it seemed like a lost cause. I started by just singing some Christmas songs. Ivan caught on but Claire just kept screaming. Finally I just started to pray. The kids quieted down as I plead for the spirit to fill our home. I prayed for each child individually and althought the Lord is aware, I voiced the troubles that each one was having. I finally admit out loud to Heavenly Father that we are struggling. I prayed that things would get better for Matt at work. I prayed that the kids could feel more love from Matt and I and that we could all show more love to one another as a family. I prayed that we would feel the spirit more strongly in our home so that we would not feel so alone. It felt so amazing to finally admit that this move has not killed us but that we are struggling a lot. I started to feel calm and loved. We ended our prayer and the spirit was there. The contention was gone. What could have been a very tension filled evening was suddenly a calm and collected teaching atmosphere where we talked with one another, said sorry for the things we had done to hurt one another this evening and learned just where in the heck our money goes each month. We ended our family home evening singing more Christmas songs and by the time it was over, everyone including Matt was asleep. We have needed that peace so much. We have needed to turn to the Lord and plead for his help. I know we have been relying on him but we haven't actually voiced our concerns and fears directly to him, only to each other. What a difference it makes to turn your problems over to someone who can actually fix them. I am so thankful for Family Home Evening and the difference that it makes in our home. I am especially thankful for the Spirit that it brought into our home tonight at this trying time in our lives.