I was just kneeling down to pray and I felt God ask the question again:
Mary, what is it that you really want?
My answer felt immediate: to have my children come to You and know the joy that is found there.
His response? Have you found the joy? How can your children know of the joy if they don't see any evidence of it in your own attitude?
It made me think: God promises us that our burdens will be easy and light in this life. It doesn't mean that they won't exist. Troubles, trials, privations, testing...they are all a part of this existence.
But if we were truly to turn to God in each and every one of those instances--through praying, scripture study, etc.--I can't think of an example in which turning to Him wouldn't make it better, wouldn't give us more peace and perspective.
We can have peace and joy now. If we want our children to walk the path to joy through obedience, really want to, the most effective way is to show that joy ourselves.
And stop worrying about being perfect!!!! God's promises of peace, joy and rest in this life are never based upon our level of "doing things right." The only thing we have to do is get down on our knees, be humble and as Gordon B. Hinckley put it, "Try...but you have to really try."
I can try. I can recognize my faults. Why is the tricky part falling on my knees more often and then just smiling when life goes as it has gone every day for the past 40 years, full of unexpected set-backs, sudden messes, and emotional instability?
If I want my children to find the joy, maybe I should spend more time thinking about my own search and spend less time hustling them on their way with urgency...rather lead like a shepherd. Joyfully and confidently. If we know there is joy at the end of a trial-ridden path, why do we doubt? Why do we fear? If we know we are supposed to be tested, why do we look on those tests as marks of our inadequacy rather than opportunities to learn and grow?
Mary, what is it that you really want?
My answer felt immediate: to have my children come to You and know the joy that is found there.
His response? Have you found the joy? How can your children know of the joy if they don't see any evidence of it in your own attitude?
It made me think: God promises us that our burdens will be easy and light in this life. It doesn't mean that they won't exist. Troubles, trials, privations, testing...they are all a part of this existence.
But if we were truly to turn to God in each and every one of those instances--through praying, scripture study, etc.--I can't think of an example in which turning to Him wouldn't make it better, wouldn't give us more peace and perspective.
We can have peace and joy now. If we want our children to walk the path to joy through obedience, really want to, the most effective way is to show that joy ourselves.
And stop worrying about being perfect!!!! God's promises of peace, joy and rest in this life are never based upon our level of "doing things right." The only thing we have to do is get down on our knees, be humble and as Gordon B. Hinckley put it, "Try...but you have to really try."
I can try. I can recognize my faults. Why is the tricky part falling on my knees more often and then just smiling when life goes as it has gone every day for the past 40 years, full of unexpected set-backs, sudden messes, and emotional instability?If I want my children to find the joy, maybe I should spend more time thinking about my own search and spend less time hustling them on their way with urgency...rather lead like a shepherd. Joyfully and confidently. If we know there is joy at the end of a trial-ridden path, why do we doubt? Why do we fear? If we know we are supposed to be tested, why do we look on those tests as marks of our inadequacy rather than opportunities to learn and grow?
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