Family Is Everything

In December we were blessed with our first grandchild.  Adelynn Marie was born to my oldest daughter.  What a sweet joy it was to hold her in my arms for the first time.  It was equally joyful to see Brynnley and Matt hold and love that sweet little baby who has blessed their lives.  What surprised me most was how I felt watching my son hold his little niece, it melted my heart. That week I experienced emotions that I didn’t even know I had! There is something about a brand new baby that seems to penetrate beyond this life, and lets us know that there is more and that there is a God, and we are part of an AMAZING plan!

God’s plan involves families.  Every person born is born into a family.  My greatest joys and my most exquisite feelings involve my family.  I heard the statement, “Family is Everything” for the first time many years ago while reading a book about Marjorie Pay Hinckley.  When I first read it, something clicked in my head and my heart, and I knew it was true!

The Family: A Proclamation to the World, written by prophets of God declares, “…that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.”   That is a bold statement letting us know just how vital and sacred the family is.  That inspired document also teaches us that parents have a “sacred duty” to rear their children in righteousness,and will be held accountable to God in how we do that.  The relationships in our families matter, they matter more than any other earthly relationship.  Family should also be our highest priority.

I recognize that there are many who don’t have the ideal family they would like.  There are those who come from broken homes and dysfunctional families.  There are those who desperately want to find a spouse, have children or grandchildren, but for reasons unknown to them, they are not able to fulfill that dream, while it feels that everyone around them is finding joy in those areas.  To you I say, hold on.  The Savior knows your desires, your pains, and hears your pleas.  This life is but a moment.  It feels like an eternity, but there is more, and those desires will be more than made up for in the eternities if you keep your covenants.  For now cherish the family you have, and have faith in the family you will have in the future.