I visited the bank with my son, who had recently been discharged from the military, to take care of a savings account he had contributed to during his service. While we were waiting for our turn, a memory—a precious one I have cherished in my heart for about fifteen years—suddenly came to mind.
My son was about seven or eight years old at the time. We had gone to the bank together, and after a long wait in a crowded lobby, it was finally my turn. My son, having grown restless from waiting so long, was already getting fidgety. I worried whether he would stay calm while I spoke with the bank clerk. Sure enough, he began wandering around, looking for something interesting to do.
When I finished my business and turned around, to my surprise, I found him quietly sitting and reading. He wasn’t reading a magazine or a children’s book but a pamphlet introducing the bank’s products. I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. Even though the pamphlet was full of difficult terms he surely couldn’t understand, I was simply thankful that he was staying quiet. I called him to go home. When he saw me, his eyes grew wide with excitement. He ran over to me and eagerly opened the pamphlet to explain.
“Mom! Mom!” he said excitedly. “If you deposit money in the bank, they give you interest! And this one gives compound interest. It means they even give you interest on the interest! Have you heard of it?”
Hearing him explain, as if he were a bank employee, made those around us chuckle. I wondered whether he truly understood what he was saying, but I was proud that he was grasping some basic economic principles at such a young age. In appreciation for his effort, I played along and replied: “Really? Then I should consider a compound interest account too. Thank you for letting me know. You understood something quite difficult!” However, what my son said next surprised me even more:
“I want to be blessed by God with compound interest!”
His unexpected comment left me speechless. On our way home, we talked about what we could do to bring joy to God and receive blessings with “compound interest.” We made resolutions about what we would each practice and committed ourselves to working hard at it. Since that day, my son’s words have often rekindled my motivation to run toward my heavenly reward.
“Do you remember what you said to me at the bank when you were just a little boy?”
Now all grown up, my son simply smiled shyly. But I know—I know he has been steadily striving ever since, just as he promised that day.
Perhaps compound interest has been part of heaven’s way of calculation all along. Even though we receive the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation freely simply because we are God’s children, our Heavenly Father and Mother prepare overflowing heavenly rewards, repaying even our small acts of faith and goodness with abundant spiritual blessings. From my birth to every moment I breathe today, my life is already filled with the abundant grace of God. With a heart full of gratitude, I now long to become a child who brings joy upon joy to God.