What Does It Take To Make A Family?

I absolutely love this picture- one Birmingham Dance, five Maces! Mostly, I love the fact that we are all so different. That's why being a member of a family takes tolerance, patience, forgiveness, understanding and a great sense of humour; which is exactly why we are in families- we need to learn these things.

I got to teach a lesson in Young Women's this week that was talking about Families and particularly how we can support each other. It gave me a lot to think about and be grateful for.

I love the people around me and the things they teach me. This week I had an exam and I was really stressed the night before. I was on Skype in tears about it! I am grateful that in that moment I had someone close to me to be able to tell me to calm down and to help me to do so. We said a prayer together on Skype and after that happened I went downstairs to ask my Dad to give me a Father's blessing. It was a really lovely experience and I already felt calmer. When I came out of the room, Mom was laughing in the dining room. I went in to see why and she showed me the following video that had been posted on my facebook:

I spent that evening and the following morning driving to my exam feeling "happy of myself". It is amazing the difference people can make when they care and when we share our problems. I only hope that I am as helpful when people come to me with a need.

It was my Mom's birthday this weekend and it was a lovely experience to be able to celebrate with her. We weren't all together as a family- there were actually more of what we affectionately term 'the hangers-on' than there were family members- but it was a great day.

I had a letter from a friend who is currently serving a mission in Kentucky, this week. He has decided to support me in my quest to study more about the Atonement by supplying a talk on the topic in the letters he sends. It's fabulous. This talk was from Brad Wilcox and was about Grace. I read it this morning while getting ready and it touched me a lot. Mainly, it made me think about all the ways I need to show my gratitude to my Saviour for everything He has done for me. It is right to reverence Christ's grace because through it we are saved. There is no other way. I acknowledge and love the fact that there are many many moral people in the world who do not necessarily believe in Christ- and I don't mean to offend anyone by my beliefs. I think all moral actions improve people. As we keep practising and practising we WILL learn how to believe in ourselves and become so much more than we are. I believe that Christ doesn't just make up the difference but He is the foundation upon which we can build ourselves- every brick we diligently put in place will be held up by Him. All the materials we need to creating beautiful lives is provided by Him- even the winds we need in order to check if what we are building is strong enough to last.

Being part of a family lends us support throughout the time that we are building; and building will make our family stronger. There is no end to the blessings we can get and share as we learn and experience and develop. Our lives can genuinely become a masterpiece because of the confidence we can have in our foundation. Without Him we would never be able to achieve anything because we would already be so far in debt that each brick would fall into a bottomless pit. He allows us to build from the ground up. So we need to keep building instead of digging. Our foundation is in place. A constant source of strength. The foundation for wonderful opportunities, a life full of meaning and everything it takes to make a family!