You fasted for John?

We had some friends over tonight to have hot dogs and smores with the new fire pit along with watching  "The Croods" with our projector.  We had a great time and had gone to a lot of work moving things around the yard so it was party perfect.  Our friends were about an hour late arriving so my kids were getting hungry and panicking that our friends might pull a "no show".  I reassured them that they were indeed coming.

Just minutes before our friends arrived, I was doing something at the kitchen counter while J and G were sitting on the stools.  G told me that he was SO hungry.  I told him to hang on that they would be here soon.  Then he said, "I'm just so hungry.   I haven't eaten anything all day."  I asked him, "Why?" in an almost agitated way seeing he is fourteen years old and can make a sandwich for himself.  And then I heard my fourteen year old tell me he was fasting.  I skeptically asked him, "You're fasting?" And then it hit me.  "Are you fasting for John?", I asked. He said, "Yes".  I asked him if he had started with a prayer.  He said that he had at 9:00 last night.  I stood there and then in a humble yet impressed whisper asked again, "You fasted for John?"  He nodded his head.  I smiled at him through my tears, walked around the counter and just held onto my sweet boy.  

While holding him I couldn't help but think back years ago when my little sister's friend fasted for me when I so desperately needed it.  I was so grateful and shocked then that a twelve year old would make the choice to do that for me all on her own.  Now my own son was doing it for his brother's friend.  

Thoughts raced through my head about how G had talked about fasting in his Teachers Quorum last Sunday and was challenged to share what he had learned with our family at Family Home Evening.  He did, and we had a really good discussion about fasting and some of the miracles we have seen from doing so.  I was so grateful for his leaders to issue that challenge and for the discussion our family had had.  

I was so grateful for such a good boy with such righteous desires.  I held G and just cried thinking about what he had taught me, what he had done for someone else without being asked, and his fourteen year old faith.  I love that boy.