“Moving,” Friend, May 2012, 10–11
Moving
Lift up your heads, and rejoice, and put your trust in God (Mosiah 7:19).
José didn’t want to move! How could he feel better?
“Thanks for the ride!” José said. He grabbed his soccer ball and jumped out of his friend Trevor’s car. “See you tomorrow,” José called, waving to Trevor and his mom.
José’s stomach grumbled as he walked into the kitchen. Soccer practice had been hard, and he was hungry! “Hi, Mom. When is dinner?” José asked.
“In five minutes, so hurry and wash up!” Mom answered cheerfully. “And we’re going to have a family meeting tonight right after dinner.”
“Really? What about?” José asked.
“You’ll just have to wait and see,” Dad said mysteriously as he sat down at the table. “Come on, boys, it’s time to eat!” Dad called to José’s two younger brothers.
After dinner, José sat on the couch with his brothers. He smiled as Lucas and Martin made silly faces. Dad squeezed onto the couch and put Lucas on his lap.
“We have something important to tell you,” Mom said. “We’ve decided that we are going to move.”
José, Martin, and Lucas stared at their parents.
“But why?” José asked.
“You know that we’ve been having a hard time with money,” Dad explained. “Your mom and I talked and prayed about it, and we feel like this is the right thing to do.”
“Grandma and Grandpa are leaving on their mission soon,” Mom said. “They said we can live in their house while they’re away. We’re going to live there so we can save some money.”
José was stunned. Martin leaped up and asked, “But what about school? What about our friends?”
“Mom found your new school, and it looks terrific,” Dad said. “We’ll get settled in and make new friends. It might be hard at first, but we’ll get through it.”
“I can’t believe we’re just going to leave!” Martin exclaimed.
José, who had been sitting quietly, said, “Lehi and his family had to leave their house too.”
“That’s right, José,” Dad said. “Lehi and his family had to leave Jerusalem and live in the wilderness. We’re blessed to have another house to go to.”
“Can you think of other people from the scriptures who had to leave their homes?” Mom asked.
“Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden of Eden,” Martin said.
“And it was really pretty there!” Lucas added.
“The early Saints had to leave Nauvoo,” José said. “We learned in Primary that they loved their city and were sad to leave it.”
“Think about all the missionaries who leave their homes to go and serve,” Dad said. “Grandma and Grandpa are just one example.”
“Remember Jesus’s disciples? They left everything to follow Jesus and preach with Him,” Mom said. “Fortunately, we’ll still be together as a family, and we know that Heavenly Father will help us through our challenges.”
José thought about his house, his school, his soccer team, and his friends. It would be hard to leave them all behind. But he knew that as long as his family was together and they trusted in Heavenly Father, everything would work out. Despite his heavy heart, José felt a glimmer of warmth as he looked at the people he loved most—his family.
Illustration by Casey Nelson