Family Home Evening Lesson

Our family has really made Family Home Evening a priority for the last 6 months or so. We are having a good time together and the kids look forward to it (which is quite a switch). This past week we introduced the Primary theme for the year "I Will Follow Him in Faith" and read a story about a child who was scared while trying to go to sleep at night. In the story the child said a prayer that he wouldn't be scared and after that he felt comforted and was no longer afraid. He realized that the sounds from the closet were really him breathing hard and that the monster arms were the sleeves of his shirts. He had faith that his prayer would be answered and the fear was gone.
We defined faith and told the kids that the opposite of faith is fear. Then we all memorized a few lines that we could say when we felt afraid or needed to have faith. They are the following: Be of good cheer. Have faith and confidence. The Lord will not forsake you.
Well, last night Jackson was trying to go to sleep and as usual he couldn't stop wiggling long enough to fall asleep. He came out and said that he was having a hard time making him mind stop thinking. I asked him if he'd counted sheep, closed his eyes and even sung a song and he quickly told me that nothing worked. I then thought about our FHE lesson. I asked Jackson if he remembered those 3 lines that we'd learned on Monday night. Interestingly, I had only remembered the first and paused after, "Be of good cheer" trying to remember the next line. Jackson beat me to the punch and finished the saying. He said that he'd try that approach and see what happened. I went in a few minutes later and he was out. That was so much nicer than feeling frustrated and urging him to fall asleep over and over.
I was not only amazed by Jackson's ability to memorize and retain but even more by his faith. He believed that if he asked for help to fall asleep he would receive it. I love that each day I learn more and more how to become a better person from my children. What a blessing they are!