"Please Bless the Dickinsons While They're Broke"

Grant and I feel like "grown-ups" again ... at least sort of. Even though we're still "basement dwellers" (the term lovingly given by members of my in-laws' ward to the dozen or so young families living with parents), we at least have our own home teachers assigned to us. It makes us feel, as Grant put it best, "more like adults and less like ... kids."

Our home teacher and his son visited us last night, and they are wonderful. Salt of the earth, kind, sincere people. The father took the time to ask lots of questions about us, our current situation, and really got to know us, and then presented a short but very spiritual lesson based on this month's First Presidency Message. June's message, if you haven't received it or read it yet, is by President Uchtdorf, and is on the topic of prayer. It's truly wonderful (and short!), so take the time to read it if you haven't already.

The real highlight of the evening was when the 12-year-old son, who was just filling in for his older brother as his dad's companion for the night, said the closing prayer. In his prayer, he thanked Heavenly Father for the opportunity to visit with our family, and prayed, "Please bless the Dickinsons while they're broke, that they can have success and find some money." Grant and I couldn't help but smile, not to mention added big fat "Amens" to that prayer (how could we not, after such a sincere petition to help us please find some money?!), yet we were touched by the young man's sensitivity to our family and our needs and the frank manner in which he prayed. Apparently he had assumed from the conversation that we weren't in the best of financial circumstances right now (which, let's be honest, is pretty much true). Maybe in our getting to know each other we joked around a bit too much about being "basement dwellers" and mooching off our parents for the summer until we return in the fall to be "responsible adults" again. After his prayer I felt the need to reassure him that we really are fine (thanks to our parents letting us mooch off them), but I let it go, mostly because I didn't want to embarrass him.

But perhaps he's is on to something. Maybe my prayers should be more like that humble young man's (who, as his dad explained, knows a bit about being "broke," since their family has been without employment since January). Maybe I should be a little more up front with my Heavenly Father and call our situation what it is and ask for His help (which we do need rather desperately), rather than being the typically prideful person that I am and pretend like I've got everything "under control." The truth is, we are "broke," and who knows how long our season of being so will last. If I know that, and Heavenly Father knows that, why not tell Him my concerns and ask for His help instead of poring over spreadsheets and bank statements for hours on end wondering how on earth we're going to get through the next year (and beyond)? Maybe doing all we can on our end and then turning things over to the Lord, with the simplicity of faith demonstrated by our 12-year-old home teacher, is exactly how we'll get through this next year.

How interesting that we had just received a lesson about prayer that was based on a beautiful and poignant message by one of the highest leaders of the Church, and yet the real message learned that night was given by a somewhat awkward, but very humble and sensitive 12-year-old boy.