21. A Child's Christmas Prayer

  The Christmas of 1939, here in St. George, Utah, was going to be quite humble at our house. My father had been in World War I and had suffered off and on with "shell shock", which now is called Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. He had been in the Veteran's hospital in Salt Lake City during the year, and my mother, Ruth, had given birth to my sister, Mavis, on December 1st. In those days, mothers stayed down much longer with a difficult birth. My mother had been allowed to turn over in bed on the 10th day, and got up on the 17th day, so Christmas found her very weak. My grandmother, Ruth’s mother, was living with our small family, and helping after the new baby. She stayed with us each winter and was a Temple Ordinance worker in the St. George Temple, spending her summers in the cool town of Panguitch, near the beautiful Bryce Canyon in Utah.

My parents had followed the admonition found in Doctrine and Covenants section 68, verse 28: "And they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord." (The Doctrine and Covenants is a compilation of revelations given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and includes many admonitions for living the Gospel.) Each night my mother would gather her small daughters and have their evening prayers, and we had "family prayer" together at mealtimes.

I had been praying for a doll with curly hair but my father, a barber, hadn't been able to work a lot during the year. Mother was the Primary President (an organization in our Church that meets on Sunday and teaches children the Gospel). They lived in a simple four room house. Dad had always been very adamant about not going into debt and the depression of the 1930's wasn't over yet. When they had money enough they had built a home on which they could build another room as they needed, which was quite common in those days.

That Christmas morning they kept the "front room" door closed, and only heated the kitchen, to save precious coal and wood. I was five years old, and my next younger sister, Vina, was three and a half. We had our Christmas morning in the kitchen, and I received a "Betsy Wetsy" doll, which was made of rubber, with a molded head, and a miniature baby bottle, not the "doll with curly hair" for which I had been praying.

During the morning, one of the ladies that worked in the Church with my mother came to visit. Mother let her in, and she glanced around viewing what we had received from Santa. She quickly said, "Have you looked in your front room?" Of course Mother hadn't. There in the cold front room was a box the other Primary workers had put together with toys for us girls. On the top of that box was a doll with "curly hair"!

                                                      

                      This is a doll similar to the one I received that day.

Although my memory of that occasion has since slipped away, my mother told it to me many times, and could never tell it without a few tears, and being choked up. I know that occasion strengthened my faith in prayer, and many times since I have had my prayers answered -- often as definite an answer, but also often perhaps a delayed answer. During my growing up years, whenever I encountered a problem, which was often, either I would have a personal prayer, or my mother would pray with me. In numerous situations, my faith was confirmed by an answer to a prayer – including a time I lost one cherished ear ring, and prayed. I found it behind a public building in some tall grass. We have prayed many times, when several members of our family wore "contacts", and one got lost.  And often they were found through prayer, sometimes in quite unusual circumstances. These are only material things prayed for. Many times prayers were for more serious concerns, and always answered with feelings of peace and often inspiration on how to handle a difficult and emotional situation.
  
I have full faith that God, our loving Heavenly Father, answers each of our prayers, sometimes "yes", and sometimes "no", but they are always answered. If a small child's prayer can be answered, then each of our prayers as grown ups in which we sometimes cry to God in agony or distress, is also heard and answered. I KNOW IT! He knows what will be for our "eternal best good". I've heard my dear Mother pray many times, for her children and grandchildren. Each time her prayer included asking for the answer to be for what our loving Heavenly Father knew would be for their "Eternal Best Good"! That is what I pray for now for each of my dear children, grand children, and now great grandchildren. He knows what is best for us!