Today in Relief Society I was sitting there and it suddenly dawned on me how blessed I am. Probably these thoughts were in the back of my mind because of a dream I had last night. I was dreaming out Mine and Michelle and Tiffany's "club house" that we used to have when I was young. Then I was dreaming about walking on the leaves that "sound like crunchy, crunchy ceeeeeaaarrrreeeeaaaalllll." (Yeah, don't worry about that one too much, only Michelle and Tiffany would think that's funny, I'm sure). Then I thought of how often I dream about my childhood when I'm pregnant. Then I started thinking about how I almost always wake up with a smile on my face when I do. I was seriously blessed with such a great childhood (I wish I could have known that while I was living my childhood. lol.) But then as Bonnie was giving the lesson on Tithing, I was noticing all the sisters that said that was the "test of their faith" to pay tithing. That they had all these obstacles to overcome because it was just hard for them to do. Then Bonnie asked what we can do to help OUR children learn to pay their tithing. I told about the time that my Dad added up our bills and our income (the bills outweighed the income). And I know...and he knew...that it was because we paid our tithing that we had enough to live on. And I told how grateful I was that my Dad didn't just say to himself "Wow, glad we pay our tithing" and then leave it at that. He made sure that us kids knew about this as well. I noticed that almost every lesson that we have in Relief Society there is always someone who says "I had a hard time with this commandment or with this task. And it is always because they had to learn when they were an adult. They didn't get to learn when they were a child, when faith was an easier thing to come by. I got to learn so much when I was a child that makes my adult life SO much easier now. I know how to do all these things. I recognize "teachable moments" when they come because I got to see first hand how to do because my parents did it. I know how to have Family Home Evening because I saw my parents do it. I know how to save because I saw my parents do it, and they taught me how to do it. I know how to pay my tithing because I saw my parents do it, and they taught me how to do it. I know how to study my scriptures by myself and with my family, because I saw my parents do it. I saw my parents do all these things, even when it would have been easier for them not to. It would have been easier at times not to pay their tithing because we could have used the money. It would have been easier at times NOT to have scripture study (I now know how hard it is to get children up that early in the morning...it's not my idea of fun). It would have been more fun NOT to save our money, we could have used that money for nicer vacations or brand name clothes or a lot of other "fun" stuff...but now I know how to save, and as an adult it is SO nice to have that money set aside when something comes up...medical bills...broken appliances that need repaired or replaced...new beds....and a million other things that aren't as "fun" to spend your money on, but you still have to do it. And it's nice when an unexpected bill comes and we don't have to scrimp on stuff like food in order to pay those bills. I'm really blessed that my parents taught me how to be self sufficient, and taught me that life isn't meant to be one big party. I'm glad they didn't teach me if you want it, get it and someone else will take care of your needs. I'm glad my parents didn't teach me to have Family Home Evening when it's easy or to go to church only when it's convenient to do so. I'm glad they taught me about the importance of temples. And most of all, I'm glad that my parents never gave up on me, even when it would have been easier to do so. I've got the greatest parents in the world.
*It's so much easier to learn how to live when what you say and what you do echo the same example. :)
Thanks to my parents for all that they have done for me.
Wow, that was kind of a long post for not having anything to blog about huh? ;)
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing that. Our family too has been so blessed from paying tithing. We have never gone with out our basic needs, the Lord has always made sure they were met, even when I was a single mom.
I really enjoyed your post. So much truth in it.
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