Another Lecture?

It is Working!!!!!!  I can rarely say those words, so I thought I would start off by saying one more time - It is Working!!!!!

Every morning when Ally and Sam leave the house I kiss them goodbye, tell them that I love them, and then I open the door.....the minute I see them hit the road (without me) I have a bit of a melt-down.  Do you have any idea how many different things could go wrong in the course of a day?  There are kidnappers, kids teasing them on the playground, them teasing kids on the playground, broken bones, dirty pictures, dirty jokes, dirty people + a million more.  I should know because every morning as I watch them walk away they run through my mind, leaving me a little hopeless. 

So in my anxiety I yell to them as they are marching away, "I love you!  Be good!"  At that point I still want to yank them back inside and keep them from ever leaving again, but I know that isn't the right choice, so I yell out in complete desperation, "Listen to the Spirit."  (I know..you are picturing what this looks like...and I know the picture isn't pretty - I'm okay with that, as long as they listen, I'm okay with that).

What else could I say that would be the solution to every situation that they might face?   But then the question arises in my mind....Have I taught them how to listen to the Spirit?

This is what I have been working on for, what seems like months, and we are making some progress.  It all started with listening to this, a converstaion  with Elder Bednar and his wife!  I realized that instead of lecturing my kids (which I am awesome at), I needed to start helping them find answers to their questions and solutions to their problems by listening to the Spirit (which I am not so awesome at), and then to ACT. 

A few days ago at the dinner table Ally uneviled for us a problem on the bus.  (The school bus is the bane of my existence).  Well, as soon as she explained it to me, I knew what the solution was. (Afterall, we have been having the exact same problem for 3 years now, and I have told her the solution probably 100 times).   But, with all of my might, I bit my tongue and waited.  The only words I said were, "So Ally, what do you think you should do?"  No resposne.  So I waited some more.  And FINALLY as we were doing the dishes she says to me, "Mom, I think if I stayed busy on the bus, that wouldn't happen to me anymore."

Really?  She acted like it was her own idea, and she was so proud of herself (remember the 100 lectures that I had already given?  That was the lecture.)  But if it worked, I was willing to let her think it was her own idea. 

I would just like to report that the last 3 days have been problem free (on the bus anyway) because she has been following her own advice!  And because it was her own advice (inspired by the Spirit), everyday she believes it more and more.  It is working!