"as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings"

Today was one of those days that I knew would come eventually, but caught me completely off guard at the same time. Brenna came to me and said "The F-word is a bad word". I was kind of shocked. I asked how she knew about the F-word, and she told me that a girl in her class at school told her. Then I asked if she knew what the F-word was and she said yes, that this girl had told her what it was too, and that a boy in class had also said it. Part of me feels like I should have expected this. I did make the choice to send her to public school, what more could I expect? But most of me wants to cry. Kindergartners?? Really?? I was not introduced to this kind of thing in Kindergarten! I know this isn't as bad as it could be. There are a lot of evil things that would be a lot harder to get rid of once she had been introduced to, so I guess I need to be grateful for that, but it makes me worry that I am not equipped to keep her safe in a world turning so bad. How do I do enough to protect her, and all my children, from the evil things that they are bound to see?

Then I found some peace in the scriptures. Today I am in 3 Nephi 10. Verse 4 and verse 6 both mention that the Lord would gather us as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings if we turn to Him. To me that means He wants to protect us. He knows the evils we will face, and He wants us to stay close to Him so that He can keep us safe. One of the most comforting things about reading this today is that I know this is true. As I look back over my life I know I have been protected when I have tried to live close to the Spirit. I have had help and protection in so many ways, probably much more than I deserve, and although I know I am not even close to perfect, I can see the blessings that come from righteous choices. There is so much comfort in knowing that we are not alone in this life. I love that the more I learn about our Father's plan, the more I feel that He prepared it perfectly, with every detail and intricacy accounted for. I truly believe that he has given us every single thing that we need to be able to return to Him. So I can take comfort. With a perfect plan to follow and a Savior who fulfilled a perfect Atonement that He could be our protection, I think everything is going to be alright. I am equipped to help my sweet children make it through as long as I stay close to the source of true safety.