Ministering to our Children

One of my favorite paintings is entitled Look to your Children by Minerva Teichert.  As I ponder over this masterpiece, I remember its source from the Book of Mormon where angels and the Savior himself are gloriously descending from heaven to minister to the children.  The painting depicts angels bringing baskets full of food and a large vessel of life-giving water to the children and it caused me to consider:  How does one minister to children?

Then it came to me:  We must be their earthly angels.  It must be our highest priority to look to the physical and spiritual nourishment of our children; to lovingly wrap our arms around them, to show them the love of the Savior in all that He has done for us and to nurture their physical bodies with healthful food and water.  What could be more important than that?  Oh, we find lots of things. That's why cold cereal and processed foods become so useful:  So that we don't have to stop too long as we speed to our next scheduled activity!

I have seen too many malnourished children, both physically and spiritually.  However, very few suffer from a deficiency of entertainment, toys, spectator sports or indulging/neglecting adults.  We seem to have all that in spades and it seems to have begotten a world full of obese and sickly children with short attention spans.  Yes, I take responsibility for my share.  I remember the days when I actually thought Cheerios were "heart healthy!"  But now, I find myself gazing at that painting and asking:  When did the goal become more important than the soul?  Is it too late to right the world, Minerva?

Maybe not.  Please take a few minutes to watch this: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rixyrCNVVGA