Depending on the Lord

“Mommy, I can do it all by myself”, my two year old told me as she pushed my helpful hands away. I had mixed feelings of sadness and pride as she did do it all by herself and she did it beautifully and as I looked at her finished work I saw glimpses of me in it. I saw the makings of a wonderful, more talented, more amazing, more brilliant, more ready three year old than I was at the same age and I laughed in spite of myself. I like to work like it all depends on me, and pray like it all depends on Heavenly Father. I work at being anxiously engaged in a good cause, I work at having faith, being happy and grateful no matter how things turn out (some days it is harder than others), and being willing to learn quickly from my mistakes when things don’t. And then I pray…I pray for support, I pray for inspiration, I pray for motivation, I pray for resources and when things don’t go as planned I pray for forgiveness. I’m not sure a loving Heavenly Father would want us to depend solely on him for everything or every decision and I don’t think that is what will really make us happy. I pursue excellence not because I think Heavenly Father will be proud of me, or because I hope to get that proverbial cookie,  but because I am happier when I am proud of myself, when I can do it “All By Myself.” Still, I don’t like to be alone when I do it. That is where my Heavenly Father comes in for me. He’s my spotter when I lift the weights of life, He is my own personal 411 when I need extra information to make an important decision, He is my Professor, when I need to know how something is done and He will always be my Father.