Letting the Camel's Nose in the Tent

One cold night, as an Arab sat in his tent, a camel gently thrust his nose under the flap and looked in. "Master," he said, "let me put my nose in your tent. It's cold and stormy out here." "By all means," said the Arab, "and welcome" as he turned over and went to sleep.

A little later the Arab awoke to find that the camel had not only put his nose in the tent but his head and neck also. The camel, who had been turning his head from side to side, said, "I will take but little more room if I place my forelegs within the tent. It is difficult standing out here." "Yes, you may put your forelegs within," said the Arab, moving a little to make room, for the tent was small.

Finally, the camel said, "May I not stand wholly inside? I keep the tent open by standing as I do." "Yes, yes," said the Arab. "Come wholly inside. Perhaps it will be better for both of us." So the camel crowded in. The Arab with difficulty in the crowded quarters again went to sleep. When he woke up the next time, he was outside in the cold and the camel had the tent to himself."

We are so aware that we as parents have a responsibility to give Jake the best fighting chance, as we truly are in a fight for Jake's life now.  He is learning how to become perfect in his obedience as to not let in "the camel's nose" and put himself in a position where he loses everything.  If Jake is allowed to manipulate or be "sneaky" it literally opens the floodgates of bad behavior and bad influences.  This week it took very little to put Jake in a severely crazy state.  He lets up in his obedience and all goes wrong for him.  It's like an alcoholic trying one drink of beer, once he has a little he can't stop.  

My husband and I are now aware of our part in this.  We have been trying our best to be perfect in our awareness and discipline.  But we know that we can't be perfect.  It's not possible no matter how hard we try.  We are doing our best and have to rely on God and Jesus Christ to make up the rest.  We have to keep the Spirit of the Lord ever present in our home.  If we are not actively seeking for the Spirit to be in our home then we are vulnerable to other influences in our home which help Jake chose the wrong things.  Jake is a very special person, he is destined for greatness.  He is one of the chosen generation who was saved for this day.  He is precious to the Lord and has to fight to keep His influence in his life.  Jake is learning at a very young age to keep the camel out.  His little choices are the ones that make the difference.
I am so blessed to have a son who teaches me in a very real way how to apply the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I get to see first hand how much we can gain from seeking to be perfect in our obedience and reliance on the Lord, and how to repent and be better when we are not.  Jake's situation is refining all of us.  It is helping us to recognize what influences we are letting in our lives and how to make those minor corse corrections to keep us on the right track.  We are acutely aware of such things as attitude, speech, and the spirit of things because of the path the wrong influences takes our family.  I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for his comfort through all of this as we are learning his ways.  I am grateful for the angels he sends, both earthly and heavenly to comfort and give aid to our family.  What a blessing to know the true nature of God and our purpose here on Earth!  We are truly blessed.  May we all keep those camels out of our lives and recognize when it's nose has made it's way in to our tents before it's too late.