honor...

As a parent...I will be the first to admit that I am far from perfect. I have made a million mistakes while helping raise our five children. I have been overly critical at times...raised my voice way too many times...& been so very impatient...just to mention a few of my flaws & imperfections. I was learning as I went along...because you see... I had never been a parent before. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, throughout His life often referred to the relationship that He had with our Father in Heaven & would remind those that He was with to "Honor thy father & thy mother;that thy days may be long upon the land..." This is one of the greatest commandments. I'm sure my children have asked at some point in their life, "how can I honor my parents when they do things that are not right?" The answer again comes from our Savior, "I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." (Matt. 18:22) Everyone has the same responsibility to forgive a parent's mistake...just like we would expect to be forgiven by them & by others. The Savior taught us to honor & respect our earthly parents, knowing that what we become depends largely upon what we receive from them. Perhaps as a parent I did not give enough...or did not teach enough to earn that respect. Perhaps I did not show enough respect for my children. Honor...it's a simple word...it means to give special respect & to pay tribute. It means to respond to teachings that have been so painstakingly & lovingly taught. I am so far from perfect & the older I get...the clearer the picture is. Honor is something that I clearly fell short of in my efforts as a parent...I'm still learning...

LOVE...on this day of love...

"As long as we can LOVE each other, and remember the feeling of LOVE we had, we can die without ever really going away. All the LOVE you created is still there. You live on in the HEARTS of everyone you have touched and nurtured while you were here.
Death ends life, not a relationship."

--Tuesdays with Morrie

In my lifetime I have lost several close family members...my grandma died when I was 16, I had an uncle & cousin...who was my best friend...die in a car accident just after I turned 17. Then my grandpa died & not too long after that my other grandparents died within months of each other...I was really close to them. My dad followed a few years later & then just in the last 4 years...my mom passed away and I really have done okay with these losses and these were people that I really loved. Granted I about fell apart when my cousin died & I cried so much & so hard my head hurt so bad that I thought it was going to explode...I can still remember that day so vividly & it was over 35 years ago. But it wasn't until my son-in-law passed away unexpectedly a little over a year ago that I have begun to understand what life & death are all about. And just how important relationships are. The thought was presented to me just recently of...is it better to have loved & lost or to not have had it at all so you don't know what you have lost? I told this person that I thought it was better to have loved & lost...it helps you to grow & to become a better person even tho' it is so hard. As I think about all these people that I had in my life & how much I loved each one, I can't help but think how they have touched my life & how grateful I am that they are still a part of my life because they live on in my heart.