Trust Him to accompany them

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Young Women's Session of the April 1999 Conference.

I have been thinking about Teddy's baptism (coming up in February) lately, and so this quote in Sister Carol B. Thomas' talk, from a girl from the Philippines about her baptism, was interesting to me:

“I felt like I had been born again. What an extraordinary feeling of cleanliness, sinlessness! My mother’s tears flowed like a fountain of pearls, and I could tell these were tears of joy! My mother told me sincerely, ‘Lan-Ting, today I am relieved to say I can turn you over to the Lord. I trust He will accompany you along the roads of your life.’”

The first part, about feeling clean and sinless, was of course familiar to me from my own baptism. But I loved the mother's perspective about "Now I can turn you over to the Lord." Obviously our work as mothers is not done once our children are baptized! But it seems so faith-filled and peaceful to have this mother's mindset—trusting God to accompany our children and lead them where they need to go.

I heard another quote from President Nelson that goes along with this, about God's covenant children. It talks about how God loves all his children, but how once we have made covenants with Him, he has a special and binding interest in us that will never end. He will always fulfill his covenant promises, and he will never forget us once we have bound ourselves in that covenant relationship. Here's what President Nelson said:

Once we make a covenant with God, we leave neutral ground forever. God will not abandon His relationship with those who have forged such a bond with Him. In fact, all those who have made a covenant with God have access to a special kind of love and mercy. In the Hebrew language, that covenantal love is called hesed.

Because God has hesed for those who have covenanted with Him, He will love them. He will continue to work with them and offer them opportunities to change. He will forgive them when they repent. And should they stray, He will help them find their way back to Him. 

I think I forget about that covenant tie all too often. I don't forget it for myself! I feel strong and secure in my relationship with Jesus Christ (not that it can't improve! but I just have had too many experiences with His goodness and mercy to doubt Him). But for others, for my older children especially, I worry so much that they will voluntarily choose to let their relationship lapse, and then because they're not doing their part, they won't receive God's blessings. 

All that may still be true. But it comforts me to think that the fact that they have been baptized changes something! Maybe it binds them to God in some special way even when they forget Him for awhile. Or maybe it gives Jesus Christ some kind of power to help them in a way He couldn't without those covenant bonds. I don't know for sure, but I want to choose that kind of trust and relief like Lan-Ting's mother had, to "turn my children over to the Lord and trust Him to accompany them along the roads of their lives"—as he has always accompanied me!