Hugs

 

I was on the playground helping monitor 75 kindergarten students and one little friend was struggling with hitting other students.  I had already redirected him, engaged him in other activities that kept his hands busy and tried discussing it and helping him successfully play with others.

But he had hit another student. I approached him and explained that he would now not be allowed to touch students in anyway for the remainder of recess because it was my job to keep his friends safe just like I keep him safe.  

He immediately began to stomp his feet and exclaimed with much dramatic flair, "but I was about to switch to hugging my friends and now you won't even let me show love to them."  

I bit my lip to keep from laughing (the about to switch to hugging did earn high points for creativity) and told him I was sorry but I couldn't trust his hands yet and he would have to complete recess without touching anyone.  He burst into tears, told me I was mean and ran over by the building where he sat down and begin pulling up handfuls of grass to throw towards me. 

I calmly walked over and said that I could tell he was frustrated and it was okay to cry and when he was ready for help I would be waiting.  He sobbed for several more minutes and then he pulled himself together, accepted his consequences and resumed play. 

He made it through recess without hurting or touching anyone else and even decided I wasn't so bad after all. 

I was thinking about how sometimes in life I don't like my own consequences, even if they are deserved and I might figuratively tell the Lord "I was about to start hugging them".  

"About to start" still  has consequences.  

Sin doesn't change our worth, but it does put us further from God.  It can stop us from receiving blessings.  It also can interfere in our relationships with others.  

D&C 101:2 warns "I the Lord, have suffered the affliction to come upon them, wherewith they have been afflicted, in consequence of their transgressions;".

This definitely does not mean that every time something bad happens it's because someone sinned.

But it does mean that sometimes we do have afflictions, or unpleasant and difficult situations, that are a direct result of our choices to ignore or rebel against divine counsel. 

And we can cry and fuss and justify and rationalize all we want.  But ultimately we will need to accept our consequences as a part of the learning process with the help of the atonement of Jesus Christ.