I was reading the talk by Elder F. Burton Howard when he talks about marriage and the parable of the silverware, but some of the things he said applied to this parent/child relationship.
"Eternal implies continuing growth and improvement... eternal signifies repentance, forgiveness, long-suffering, hope, charity, love, and humility."
"If you want something to last forever, you treat it differently. You shield it and protect it. You never abuse it. You don't expose it to the elements. You don't make it common or ordinary. If it ever becomes tarnished, you lovingly polish it until it gleams like new. It becomes special because you have made it so, and it grows more beautiful and precious as time goes by."
Maybe this is one of the reasons why honoring your father and mother is so important. And its why when parents work hard to make your relationship with their child strong and full of love it brings joy and we feel honorable.
Elder Howard also says that those who are "moderately adopting worldly ways" are at risk for not keeping their covenants. Maybe moderately adopting worldly ways- like not treasuring, putting the time in, respecting, and correcting the parent/child relationship will make it common. The children won't be honoring and the parents won't be honorable.
In Jacob 1:5-6 it says, "For because of faith and great anxiety, it truly had been made manifest unto us concerning our people, what things shouldahappen unto them.
And we also had many revelations, and the spirit of much prophecy; wherefore, we knew of aChrist and his kingdom, which should come."
When I read this I thought of "my people" being my children. And I loved how it says "because of faith and great anxiety". When I think and ponder and worry and try hard with my relationship with each individual child, I really believe that the blessings that were listed come - revelations, prophecies, knowing Christ and His kingdom.
And I believe it is worth everything to put time, work, effort, play, faith, anxiety, or whatever it takes to make my eternal relationships different so they can last forever and we can know Christ and His kingdom.
PS - If you haven't read Elder Howard's talk in awhile- its great.
Jill - I have loved Elder Howard's thoughts in this talk for a while. I was in a training he conducted where he discussed this principle. I found it rather funny that he discussed the difference between his tableware and his silverware and when he would use each. He said that when he and his wife had friends over, the friends were "weighed in the balance and found wanting..."
ReplyDeleteI also love the concept of making something holy by the way you treat it. To me, that implies deliberate decisions. Taking that focus to our relationship with each child and making deliberate decisions with regard to each one can make that a holy and sacred thing.
I know that this is a tangential thought, but I was struck by the fact that what we love shapes us much more that what loves us... why is it that our relationship with our children stretches and teaches us much more than our relationship with our parents? I know the answer lies in the principle of sacrifice, but I can't help but think there is more...
Great post Jill!!!