Many years ago, while bearing my testimony, in church, I discovered a problem or a weakness that I have. The things that mean the most to me, are the things that are hardest for me to communicate. At the time, I thought it was cute to call my testimony, my little octopus, that was afraid of the light. My little octopus, wraps eight tentacles around my heart and wont let go, so others can see him.
Turns out, that It is not just my testimony, that I tend to hide. I still get up every fast Sunday, and confess my love for my Heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, and many other important things, in my life, that bring me joy. Yet, when I sit down, after bearing my testimony, I don't think that I have expressed any thing close to what is in my heart. Maybe it's a guy thing, or the way I grew up. Just the same, those same feeling, that are so important to express, about how I feel about my earthly father and my two sons, are still wrapped around my heart.
No other success can compensate for failure in the home. So what is success in the home? If it's making your home, better than the one you grew up in, my father succeeded.
Unlike the world we live in, our Father in Heaven doesn't require results, as much as he does, effort. That is to say, that, if you looked at my family, while I was growing up, you would not exactly have called us a success. But my father did have successes when it came to raising this family. Too point out his failures is pointless and has been done before. And, by the power of the atonement, all the efforts that my father made, can be the greatest and only important success.
That is why, God has said, Let me do the judgeing, I know how much, some one has put in to fighting this sin or that problem.
I look at my own children, and it is so easy to see were I have failed. That is one of the ways satin, gnaws at us. If the measure of success is making your home life better than what you grew up with, than maybe I have succeeded. Still, I feel the need to look at some of the things, that I feel, that I did not do so well. Maybe if I point out some of my short comings, other men, including my own sons, will learn from my mistakes, and not repeat them.
Here are three pieces of advice that I wish I had learned, many years ago.
1-Find ways to have common hobbies, with your sons. It can be a time to build character.
2-As fathers, it maybe your job, to feed your family, but please avoid jobs that take you away from home.
3-Teach your sons, that the hard things in life, should not always be avoided. Rewards are most often tied to effort.
Well if you haven't hit the button, to go to the next blog, by now, I wont give you more reasons to be tempted. Thanks for reading this far.
Love, Boyd
P.S. Next time, I might just talk more about my father, than myself.
1 comment:
What a touching post. Looking from the outside one thing I notice is the complete feeling of safety you have provided your children. They know that home "is a safe place to land" in times of difficulty. It is so easy to question our parenting. Too much of this, not enough of that...at the end of the day or days, I would like my children to know and feel that home is the place they are known and loved anyway. You and Shar have raised four very loving spirits and it is so interesting to watch them continue to grow as adults. Amazing.
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