The joyful mothers of the stripling warriors?

In reading Alma 55-57, I have been struck by the stripling warriors. They knew they would be protected if they were doing what was right, for they did not doubt but that their mothers knew it. It wasn’t that their mother’s just talked to them about it,...they saw that their mothers knew it. It made me think about what would it be about the mothers’ example that would provide strength to their sons while in the heat of battle, or facing a battle of overwhelming odds. It made me think that these women must have lived their lives with joy, in such a way that their sons saw them trusting God through tough times. If my children see me being miserable, depressed and complaining about all that is going wrong in my life, will they believe my words that my faith, my religion bring me happiness, joy and satisfaction? Would I not have to live my life in such a way that shows that?
Furthermore, as me and other women around us in society continue to show stress, depression, and anxiety in our roles as mothers, what sane young woman would look forward to raising her own children, if she decides to be a mother at all?
A few years ago, or maybe several, I realized that Sundays were not looked forward to at my house. My dear sister N.R. shared with me how she had come to the conclusion that her children could never enjoy going to church if all they saw was her stressing about going and stressing about being there! If they didn’t see the "why" of church through me who was getting them there, of course they wouldn’t share my enthusiasm and love of it! So I tried to smile more, let a few more things go, realizing that if they didn’t feel comfortable and at peace in church, they would not have a strong reason to go later in life when they were on their own, if they hadn’t developed their own personal strong conviction to go–which takes everyone different lengths of time! (And then, at least, they would be at church where they could gain their own conviction!) And something miraculous happened...I started having more joy at church! Sunday morning was no longer dreaded! We really have to show joy in what we are doing for our children to desire to do it themselves.

Ours is a gospel of peace, a gospel of joy. Of course, it will be difficult. Of course, there will be hard times. But like in "The Hiding Place", lasting peace and real joy can be found amidst affliction if we are looking for it. And our children need to know this, need to know there is some refuge from the storm and turbulence around them. They need to know how to find a few moments of quiet time in the day for rejuvenation and reflection. How can they do this if their day is planned from beginning to end for them? How can they do this if their primary care giver does nothing but fret and worry and run around like "a chicken with her head cut off", so to speak :)? Now, I am as guilty of this as anyone...this is just something I have been thinking about lately.
So, I have tried to take a deep breath,--when the house is in disarray, and the phone is demanding my attention, and I have over 180 email waiting to be checked (sorry to all of you...), --and sit down and read with my little ones; look out the window and allow myself to be caught up in the beauty of the day, and bring my kids over to share that; get down at my child’s level and look them in the eye when they are concerned about their stuffed rabbit and the ribbon that keeps falling off; laugh more; be a little crazy when I am going crazy so that I can remind myself that it is my choice to be in that frantic state :); sit down with company when they come; go outside and watch the sunset, the stars, the clouds, the trees moving in the wind. And somehow, everything else goes better. The house doesn’t seem so messy, the kids not so frantic, my self-imposed schedule not so demanding. After all, as C.S. Lewis put it,

"The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all

the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's 'own,'or 'real' life.

The truth is of course that what one

calls the interruptions are precisely one's real life--

the life God is sending one day by day."

I think that everyone’s ways of slowing down and showing joy will look different. I just think, if we are really struggling to know how, we need to start simply. Just prayerfully consider one thing you can do, when you are feeling overwhelmed or when a child is tugging on your shirt, that will help you find joy and beauty in the world around you...the life you are living! Something that will fill you and rejuvenate you, not satisfy some addiction (food and sugar=me) and leave you feel anxious, ornery, and uptight.
I loved the scripture in Alma 57: 26 where it states: whosoever did not doubt, that they should be preserved by his marvelous power...and their minds are firm. How much do we truly believe what we believe?