Encircled About

Today is Mother's Day. In honor of that special day, one of our sons posted the following picture on Instagram, of his wife encircled by their children:

That picture came to mind as I read the following verse in the Book of Mormon this morning:

They saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them. (3 Nephi 17:24)

I thought how neat it would be if there were a way to picture a mom encircling her children, but it's kind of hard for one person to surround five. Maybe that's why we love the "hen gathering her chickens" pictures, and maybe that's why we're given arms. Anyway, I digress. 

I realized that in this picture there could very well be unseen angels ministering to both mother and children, that they are providing that outer circle of love and protection. If I had another person's skills, I could try portraying that thought visually, but I don't - (Aren't you so grateful we each have differing, unique talents?) - so you'll need to imagine it yourself. 

I am grateful for a mother who lavished care and attention on me. I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to bear children and watch them grow and develop into incredible adults. I am thankful that our grandchildren have the best mothers in the world who are doing an awesome job as they cherish and teach the next generation. Finally, I am grateful for the help we receive from ministering angels, seen and unseen, as we continue on our path home to our heavenly parents.

Happy Mother's Day!