Lesson at RiteAid

Everyone knows I have a hard time passing up a good deal so today was no exception. RiteAid was having a sale and I would be able to get tampons, J&J baby wash, lotion and shampoo, and Desitin for free and a few other items for free. Since it was a holiday I'd have to take all 4 kids. Conner had been sick Sunday so Sunday night I told Neil I wasn't going but when Monday called, I just had to go. I was low on all the above things and I like to have a 6 month supply on hand at all times so I was feeling desperate and you just can't pass up free. Conner was feeling fine he said and he looked better. Of course I had to bribe the kids with letting them watch a show when we got home if they were good in the store. This trip should have only been a 10 minute trip max but I let each of the boys take in one of their new Star Wars books. I knew better but I really needed them to be good so yet another bribe. They all did really good staying by me. One time Sam wandered off for a second but rejoined us. I really was amazed how wonderful they were. I was standing in line to pay and Sam got all panicky. He had lost his book. I was calm and just said let's retrace our steps and I'm sure we'll find it. The store is small and we only went to a few areas. We went up and down every aisle meticulously looking for the book with no luck. We went back up and down the aisles three more times to no avail. Sam was pretty upset by now and he asked if we could ask a worker so we did and no one had turned one in. I told him maybe some other kid found it and took it home. I was about to give up but then I realized we hadn't prayed. So I took all the kids to the empty pharmacy waiting room and told the kids we did all we could do and had not found the book. I asked them if there was anything else we could possibly do and Sam says in a huge sob, pray. I told the kids that I had faith that Heavenly Father would help us find the book if it was still in the store and no one had taken it. I was going out on a limb because a couple months ago I had lost my keys, surprise, surprise and it was snowing really bad so I was going to drive Conner to school and then take Sam to preschool. We looked all over the house and I just kept getting angrier and angrier. We prayed but still could not find them. Conner was already 10 minutes late for school so I told him we'd have to walk. He was upset that we had not found them even after we prayed. (I didn't tell him it was most likely because of my attitude) I left the other kids home watching cartoons and got him to school rather late. Sam was upset because he wasn't going to be able to go to school. Any way an hour later I found them and I wanted to call Conner at school to tell him I had found the keys and that Heavenly Father did hear our prayers. I didn't want him to lose faith in our Savior. So here we were in Riteaid with the same predicament so we gathered together in a tight circle and bowed our heads and Sam asked Heavenly Father for help finding his book. I told the kids we'd walk around the store one more time. We got to the pet aisle, which we'd already looked down four times and Sam said he remembered having it there and I saw a corner poking out from under some stuffed penguin dog toys. I almost dropped to my knees out of relief and gratitude. I showed the book to the boys and they were so happy and couldn't believe it. I asked the boys if they thought Heavenly Father heard their prayer and they shook their heads yes. Then I asked them if they remembered the story of the 10 lepers and how only one went back to thank Jesus after being healed. I told them we needed to be like that one man and give thanks immediately and so we looked around and no one was there and we huddled close together and bowed our heads and Sam said a sweet short prayer of thankfulness. Oh how grateful I am that we went to the store today, not for the free stuff but for the lesson that I hope was learned. As a parent one of the most important things I want my kids to gain is a testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and to know that they are real and mindful of them. I remember a similar story that happened to my family as a teenager. I don't quite remember if we ran out of gas or the engine was over heating but it was some kind of car problem on vacation. I remember as my dad drove we were all scared to death but he asked us all to pray for safety and to be able to make it til we could get help and we did. These many years later I don't remember all the details obviously but I remember praying and being heard and receiving the help that was needed and immediately after getting the help my dad telling us to say a prayer of gratitude. That has stuck with me and hopefully it was passed on to my kids today.