When Mandy Called

Our third child was just beginning to talk, and I was surprised at how delighted I felt at her progress. Somehow I thought the delight of a child’s growth would wear off as the number of children increased.

One morning I had just awakened and was having my morning prayer, when I heard fifteen-month-old Mandy call out in a little singsong voice, “Momma, Momma.” Those words brought me great joy. I could not keep such happiness to myself, so I asked my Father in Heaven what I thought were rhetorical questions. “Heavenly Father, can you hear her? Isn’t she precious? Do you know how I feel when she calls, ‘Momma’?” Immediately the answer came into my mind. “Yes, that is how I feel when you call ‘Father.’”

I was humbled. I felt very grateful for the times I had called “Father” and included him in my life. And I felt pain for the times I had not called on him. That experience also helped me understand that Heavenly Father takes joy in the tiniest progress of every one of his children. Julie P. Allen, Brigham City, Utah