Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Close
Susan, Dad and Brian just drove off to take Susan to the airport. I am a better person after I've been with Susan. I feel so thankful.
She and I were discussing why we have a close family. We love to be together. We keep connected whenever possible. My siblings are some of my favorite people.
In raising my own I asked myself often what my parents did to create that love.
In my opinion, these are some of the reasons:
FAITH - We were raised with faith. Mom's faith was the most important thing to her. Faith was first, we were second. In his own way, Dad had faith. Our grandparents valued their faith above all else. At least twice a week we went to church together. One of those times each week, being in the small living room of Grandpa and Grandma Sacry. We prayed and testified together (or fell asleep) If anything came up we prayed about it.
BEAUTY - We were surrounded by beauty. We were outside more than inside, together where we saw God's creation often.
LACK OF WEALTH - This is not true. We were wealthy, but not in the way most people think of it. I know Dad and Mom had stresses about money and it made their relationship hard sometimes but seldom were we included in that. Material things were not valued. We knew happiness without lots of possessions so we knew it wasn't something to strive for except if it brought us closer together.
We also were blessed because we had to stay in the same bedrooms, share one small bathroom between many people (yes, we did argue over it!)There weren't toys, clothes, etc to argue over. We creatively made our own activities together.
WEALTH - We had plenty to eat. We even had to help acquire it by milking cows (ok, so I personally did not ever milk a cow but the boys did.) We shucked peas, snapped beans, made meals. We had the wealth of each other and our land. We were surrounded by people who loved us and were commited to us. We believed we were loved by God and were taught God's law. We were taught right from wrong. As we got older, we knew Mom and Dad couldn't give us any money for college so some worked hard to get there. Or we helped each other financially.
BLESSED - I read that the way children feel the most confidence is when they feel they are a blessing to their parents. I think Mom and Dad made us feel like they were lucky to have us. We were their best blessing. Mom never said she couldn't wait for us to go back to school. I believed my parents wanted us around. Children were the greatest gift to them and to those extended family we were around. We knew it.
Of course, there were exceptions to all of these reasons and, anyone who knows us knows we are full of flaws. But we do love each other deeply and dearly. I know it is one of my greatest blessings. Today, especially, I feel thankful.
She and I were discussing why we have a close family. We love to be together. We keep connected whenever possible. My siblings are some of my favorite people.
In raising my own I asked myself often what my parents did to create that love.
In my opinion, these are some of the reasons:
FAITH - We were raised with faith. Mom's faith was the most important thing to her. Faith was first, we were second. In his own way, Dad had faith. Our grandparents valued their faith above all else. At least twice a week we went to church together. One of those times each week, being in the small living room of Grandpa and Grandma Sacry. We prayed and testified together (or fell asleep) If anything came up we prayed about it.
BEAUTY - We were surrounded by beauty. We were outside more than inside, together where we saw God's creation often.
LACK OF WEALTH - This is not true. We were wealthy, but not in the way most people think of it. I know Dad and Mom had stresses about money and it made their relationship hard sometimes but seldom were we included in that. Material things were not valued. We knew happiness without lots of possessions so we knew it wasn't something to strive for except if it brought us closer together.
We also were blessed because we had to stay in the same bedrooms, share one small bathroom between many people (yes, we did argue over it!)There weren't toys, clothes, etc to argue over. We creatively made our own activities together.
WEALTH - We had plenty to eat. We even had to help acquire it by milking cows (ok, so I personally did not ever milk a cow but the boys did.) We shucked peas, snapped beans, made meals. We had the wealth of each other and our land. We were surrounded by people who loved us and were commited to us. We believed we were loved by God and were taught God's law. We were taught right from wrong. As we got older, we knew Mom and Dad couldn't give us any money for college so some worked hard to get there. Or we helped each other financially.
BLESSED - I read that the way children feel the most confidence is when they feel they are a blessing to their parents. I think Mom and Dad made us feel like they were lucky to have us. We were their best blessing. Mom never said she couldn't wait for us to go back to school. I believed my parents wanted us around. Children were the greatest gift to them and to those extended family we were around. We knew it.
Of course, there were exceptions to all of these reasons and, anyone who knows us knows we are full of flaws. But we do love each other deeply and dearly. I know it is one of my greatest blessings. Today, especially, I feel thankful.
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