Wednesday, April 7, 2010

HOW TO WIN A VIDEO GAME - WHEN YOU'RE 7

We bought a Wii for Christmas. My husband and I do not play video games. (I swear I played the first level of Mario on the Nintendo about 89 times without advancing to the next level before figuring out that I was not good, and, therefore, didn't really need video games in my life.)
For the first few months, we let our two older kids play the Wii every once in a while, but mostly just on a Saturday, or when my husband had a day off. In general, I felt like having the Wii was a positive thing for our family.

New Super Mario BrosThen, my oldest son started to really get into it.

His life now seems to revolve around the games, the characters, the goals of the games, and his success at playing. (Even during walks he suggests that we get points for every crack in the sidewalk that we step on, or every mailbox that we pass, etc.)

He had become addicted to the Wii. We wondered if we should sell it.

WiiHowever, the other day, I noticed something unusual while he was playing. He was kneeling down for a little bit and then bouncing back up again.

He was praying.

He was desperate to win this particular game (actually he is always desperate to win - really - he is so intense), and felt he needed extra help. After each round he would kneel down, ask Heavenly Father to help him win, and then (this was a quick and straight-forward prayer), he would hop up, grab his remote, and start playing again.

He noticed me watching him. He smiled and explained that Heavenly Father was actually helping him win.

I was delighted. He was developing his faith.

My son recognized that he needed help. He sought for help from a higher power, who he has never before seen or heard. My son believed that Heavenly Father could and would help him do something that he really wanted to do.

He continued to win and progress to the next level. He was ecstatic. He said, "See, Mom? Heavenly Father is helping me win."

My son was gaining an even stronger knowledge that his Heavenly Father does care about him and his desires - and most importantly that He loves him and will listen to and answer his prayers.

I wasn't sure if I should have a talk with my son and explain that winning a video game might not be the most important thing for us to focus our prayers on. I decided to wait. My son's prayers and desires that day were sincere. It was truly important to him, at 7 years, that he win the game. The feelings and experiences he had were real. Maybe, if he is still praying to win his video games when he is much older, I will worry, and we will have that talk.

Meanwhile, maybe the Wii can stay.

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