My son is 13. It is a wonderful age. He is still young enough to be considered a boy but I am getting a glimpse of the man he will be. While he is still very much an active and rambunctious kid, he is also very kind and considerate of others. He is able to see where there are needs and to fill those needs without being asked. When John has to be away from home, he takes seriously his role as '"Man of the House." I often catch him checking the doors and windows before he goes to bed.
Recently there was an activity for the women at church. It was a full Saturday of crafts and gift making to prepare for Christmas. I was planning to bring the girls with me and John was out of town so I gave Cole a choice to stay home by himself for a few hours or he could come with us. He thought about it for a moment and then asked if some of the moms would have their small children there. I assured him there would be some and he said, "I'll go and help entertain the kids so their moms can participate." We all went and while we worked on crafts, Cole played with babies and toddlers. He saw that some of the crafts required sanding and knowing that would be difficult for me to do because of my hands, he took care of that job for me. As the activity began to wind down he began to clean up; taking tables down and putting chairs away. Then he got the giant industrial vacuum out and vacuumed the gymnasium for us.
Usually at these kinds of events there is at least one adult man there who holds the priesthood. This is for safety reasons and to administer to the women in an emergency. On this particular day there was no adult man there. Cole was the only priesthood holder present. Some would say he is only a deacon but I could feel him in the room. He wasn't by my side the whole time, but I could look up at any moment and see him from across the gym. He emanated the spirit and I was comforted by his presence. Others who were there have mentioned that they felt the same thing too. He may be young, but he is strong.
Today in church we had a lesson about the sacrament. The teacher did not have a picture of the last supper so we were asked to close our eyes and imagine the scene as she described it to us. My imagination was different from DaVinci as I saw the room full of people and I had to look over and between shoulders in order to see. I watched as the Lord blessed the bread, broke it and passed it to one of the apostles next to him. He then passed it to the next and so on down the table. I wondered if it would make it through the room to me as I felt small and unnoticed there. Then I saw these priesthood leaders hand the bread to my son who was standing at the end of the table with other young men his age. Those boys then spread out to give the sacrament to everyone who was there, including me.
I often watch Cole passing the sacrament on Sunday. I have a great view from my perch at the organ. I feel pride while I watch him fulfilling his priesthood responsibilities. I love that he is preforming this service as a representative of the Lord to provide for me the opportunity to partake of the sacrament. Sometimes he catches me watching and he gives me a big smile. I don't know what all the Lord has planned for him but I pray he will be up for the challenge and I pray for guidance in teaching him the things he needs to know in order to do his job well.
