Primary Program - I Am a Child of God

Today was our Primary Program at church. Each year the Primary Children (ages 3-11) are given a theme. This year the theme was I Am A Child of God. They learn songs, have lessons and give talks all year long that help them learn this concept. Then in the fourth quarter of each year the children present a program where they share what they have learned through songs and speaking parts.

I have had to opportunity to serve the Primary children in our area and although I love the Primary Program I also realize what a job it is to accomplish it. It takes weeks of practice. Trying to figure out where each child will sit,who will say what and when to sing what song. Then you practice and it looks like it will never come together. I appreciate all the leaders and teachers who I know put so much time into making our program today beautiful. It was wonderful. The program began with some of the youngest children. They would say their name tell something they liked to do and then each one would say and I am a child of God. It was so nice that it was personable to each child. They sang "I Am a Child of God" a song I particularly love because when we were living in Chicago and I would go to the hospital to hold and care for the "drug babies". Babies who were born to drug addicts and were going through withdrawals which makes them very fussy. I had this one little boy that I fell in love with. I held this little baby in my arms and for the first time since I had been doing this was really angry at his mother for doing this to her sweet little boy. It was just after Christopher who had just turned one had been in the hospital and for a while there we weren't sure if he would survive. I'm sure this is what caused such special feelings for this little baby boy. I guess he could feel my tension and he began to tense up and cry even more. Nothing would calm him down. I finally sang "I Am a Child of God" (and I can't sing) and he calmed down and finally relaxed. Each time I went to hold him for the next 2 weeks he would calm down as I sang this song. Today as the children were singing I thought about that sweet little baby who would be around 19 today. Does he still know that he is a child of God? I don't know but I really hope so.

Back to the Primary Program. The children sang the song and then they had the Roggermeier family sing it in German, then the Jewkes family sang it in Dutch, and finally a group of children sing it in Spanish. It was beautiful and brought tears to my eyes. Each child had a part in the program which made it so nice. Mackenzie said her part and didn't make one mistake. "I am Mackenzie. I am a child of God. I know that some day I will live with Heavenly Father again."

Mackenzie sang all the songs and we were proud that she knew the words. Her favorite song was "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" and she couldn't understand why they wouldn't let her sing it as a solo since she knew it so well. I had to convince her that it was too beautiful of a song to let just one child sing it. She then told me that she wanted to sing it for the Christmas concert at school instead of her solo she is supposed to sing. I am trying to convince her that it isn't a Christmas song. Even though it is about the Savior (which was her argument as to why she should be able to sing it).

We are so lucky to have a Primary Presidency who love the children and appreciate each of them and their individual talents. They had a child play the bells on the organ. They had a group of kids playing actual bells and for one song they even had Mitchell J. (a boy Mackenzie was in love with several years ago when they first moved into our ward all because he had a cool band-aid) lead the Primary children and the Missionaries in a song called "Called to Serve".

It was a beautiful program and to finish out a wonderful day I went to Young Women's where I now serve and sat in a room of Young Women all of whom had,except for the new move in's, been in Primary with me since I was called to serve there. Lynsdey J. left Primary the first Sunday I was called but I had served as her Activity Day Leader. Janie W. was the first young woman who "graduated" from Primary about 4 months after I was called to serve. Today we had a non member, Autumn, who has been learning how to play a song as a goal play the opening song it was "I Am a Child of God". So of course my eyes did get misty because even now these girls who are 12 - 18still know the most important thing in the world.