The Potato Chip Prompting

Maya sliced the strawberries and added them to the bowl of fruit salad. Fruit was her favorite food. She loved all the bright colors. And she never had to worry about eating it!

Maya had a lot of food allergies. She had to be careful because eating the wrong food could make her really sick. When she was little, she drank some cow milk by accident and had trouble breathing. She had to go to the hospital. She didn’t want that to happen again.

Sometimes it was hard to have to eat different things than her friends and family. But she knew it was important to stay safe.

Maya carried the fruit salad to the counter. “The salad’s ready.”

Dad looked up from the pot he was stirring. “Great! Our guests will be here soon.”

Maya heard a knock at the door and ran to open it. The Johnson family and the missionaries smiled at her from the porch. The Johnsons were family friends. Maya was happy to see them again. She opened the door wide for everyone to come inside.

While they waited for dinner, one of the missionaries showed Maya a magic trick. She couldn’t figure out how he was pulling the coin out of her ear!

Soon it was time to eat. Brother Johnson said a prayer. Then they all lined up to fill their plates.

When it was Maya’s turn, she got a big scoop of fruit salad. She skipped over some food she knew had milk in it.

Then she picked up a big bag of chips and poured some onto her plate. They looked like the same kind of chips she had eaten before. She put one in her mouth.

But as she started to chew, she had a strong feeling. Check the ingredients, a voice said in her mind.

Maya stopped chewing. She looked at the list of ingredients on the bag. The chips had milk in them!

Maya grabbed a napkin and spat out the chip as fast as she could. Her eyes filled with tears. She hadn’t swallowed it. But would something bad still happen?

“Mom! Dad!” Maya rushed over to her parents. “I put a chip with milk in it in my mouth!”

“It’s OK,” Mom said. “Let’s get some medicine.” Maya swallowed the pill Mom handed her and took some deep breaths. Dad held Maya while they waited for the medicine to work.

After a few minutes, Mom said, “How do you feel?”

Maya still felt scared. But nothing felt wrong with her body. “I think I’m OK. But could I have a blessing?”

“Of course,” Dad said. “Let’s ask the missionaries to help.”

Maya sat in a chair, and Dad and the missionaries placed their hands on her head. They blessed her to be safe. Maya felt calm. All her bad feelings were gone.

“How did you know to check the ingredients on the bag?” Mom asked.

“I felt a warning from the Holy Ghost!”

Dad gave her a big hug. “I’m so glad you listened.”

Maya nodded. She knew that Heavenly Father loved her and cared about her.

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Illustrations by Chrisanne Serafin