4 Year-Old Stress

Years ago, our family went to a family reunion. It was a great day, but also a long one. We got home late. My four year old fell asleep on the way home.

After waking up, he came in to go potty, get dressed and go to bed. From the bathroom I heard crying. He was in there for a long time. I knew he was tired, so I thought I better go help him. He was in the bathroom trying to clean up a mess that he had made in his pants. It was very stressful and disturbing to him to find a dirty pants problem. This stress along with his extreme tiredness made him very sad and he just couldn’t help crying. I helped him clean things up, and helped him get ready for bed. I hugged him, and tucked him in bed. He was still crying. I knew that this was a situation where he was emotionally, and physically weak.

I thought I should sing him a song to invite the Spirit and calm him down. During the song, I realized that he needed even more comfort than a song could give him. I knew he needed a special prayer.

I asked him if I could pray for him. I held his little hand while he whimpered as softly as possible. I asked my Father in Heaven to bless him with the comfort of the Spirit and the calmness to be able to sleep etc. Immediately after I said, “Amen” he started to breath regularly and relaxed. Soon he was calmly resting. Tonight our house was blessed with a miracle. It may seem like a small miracle to some, but to my son, it was HUGE. His loving Father in Heaven looked down on him and saw his pain and made it go away.

When you feel like you don’t have enough power to comfort or instruct your children, even your little ones, don’t forget to pray.