A Cerulean Blue Ice Cream


 

Being a grandma, I have a tendency to like to ‘kidnap’ one of our grand kids and take them out for an ice cream. Not just because I love my grand kids and want to establish a relationship with them, but also because I like ice cream.

You learn a lot of things from your kids if you watch and interact with them. Things like you can’t leave a three-year old unsupervised with scissors for very long. Disaster is definitely going to happen. Or with a permanent marker…around leather furniture. That kind of learning from your kids.

Guess what?! The learning goes on with grand kids too! I took a grandson out for an ice cream. Small shop, 31 flavors of ice cream to choose from. With so very many options to choose from, the choice can be overwhelming. He chose his favorite color. He loves cerulean blue, so it stands to reason, in the mind of a young child, that the ice cream flavor had to be as endearing to him as the color was. He ordered it, was handed it and took a lick and before I even had a chance to pay for it, he dumped it in the trash can.

Wait, what?! How can this be? There are a lot of little lessons in here. He may have thought all ice creams taste like vanilla, his favorite flavor, which I did not know at the time. He had a hyper-sensitivity to flavors, which I did not know at the time. I hadn’t asked him or his mom enough questions before I took him out for ice cream to know what his preferences and tolerances were as to flavors and ice cream.

The biggest lesson I learned though was that sometimes when a gift (like ice cream) is given, the receiver doesn’t always have to accept it. Or they may accept it at first and then reject it. Or they may flat out reject it.

These thoughts all occurred to me during recent contemplative moments as I was partaking of the Sacrament. Though it’s a re-commitment of my baptismal covenant, for me, it’s also a reminder of the Atonement of my Savior Jesus Christ.

My Savior, the Savior, Atoned for the sins of all mankind (The quintessential Cerulean Ice Cream), paid the price of all sins, thus purchasing our souls, and whether we want Cerulean Ice Cream/Daiquiri Ice or not, we don’t have to eat it, partake of the cleansing and healing power of the Atonement. We can walk away from it. Reject Him. Reject all He’s done for us.

While contemplating the Sacrament, I ponder and play with the word ‘always’, from ‘always remember Him’. As I do so, I hear in my mind, ‘in all way remember Him’. In all ways. In all things I do. In how I treat my spouse, my kids, neighbors, grand-kids, strangers. In how I care for our home that Heavenly Father has blessed us with, how I care for our yard, our clothes, mind our finances… In all ways. In all my stewardships. In my emotions, in my reactions, my hopes, dreams, in all ways.


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