I was asked to talk om Mother's Day: I survived. I will share with you the thoughts I prepared:
What do you do to enjoy this Mother’s day? Some of us come to church and compare ourselves to all the amazing women we have the privilege to be surrounded by? I even know some mothers avoid sacrament meetings on Mothers day because of the guilt they feel when they hear the accomplishments of all the mothers around them!
not one here is without fault, and I hope by sharing what I have learned while studying for this talk I can lighten that load, and allow the Lord to carry some of the burdens we take on. That is his desire, I hope we will let him. I will start by sharing this short poem:
POEM
Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day
With little time to stop and pray
For life's been anything but calm
Since You called on me to be a mom
Running errands, matching socks
Building dreams with building blocks
Cooking, cleaning, and finding shoes
And other stuff that children lose
Fitting lids on bottled bugs
Wiping tears and giving hugs
A stack of last weeks mail to read
So where's the quiet time I need?
Yet when I steal a minute, Lord
Just at the sink or ironing board
To ask the blessings of Your grace
I see then, in my small one's face
That you have blessed me
All the while
And I stop to kiss
That precious smile
Do you Delight in Motherhood? How can we delight in Motherhood? How can we adapt and change our mothering to allow more delight in our life?
Let me start by saying, I know this talk what I Needed. I needed to hear a message from my father in heaven, I needed an attitude adjustment. And I appreciate the opportunity I have to come here today, partake of the sacrament and mend my ways. I am far from perfect, and I appreciate the grace that is offered to me, so that I can receive His blessing.
What do you Delight in? What Is delight? How can we have & recognize the delights in our lives?
What is delight…..
1: a high degree of gratification : joy ; also : extreme satisfaction
2: something that gives great pleasure
I took an informal poll from some of my friends: some of their responses for what they delight in are as follows:
Little feet.
The one Thousand of questions, per hour of a 4 year old
being told, “"I got you to be my mommy 'cause Heavenly Father loved you extra!" and "I'm just good for hugs and kisses!"
Going to the temple with your children
Knowing that the efforts of your daily tasks are appreciated.
The hugs, kisses, and time spent with loved ones.
Reading together
Seeing them learn something new
Sharing with them the wonders of nature
Seeing our children make good choices, and sharing with them gospel principals that will unite us eternally.
Yummy goodies shared with the family.
I read in the scriptures the following:
Isaiah 58:13-14 (King James Version)
13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Can we Delight in the Sabbath?
If we turn our feet away from OUR pleasure on the Sabbath, and honor our father in heaven instead, doing things that are to bring us closer to him, we will be a delight to our Lord.
What an honor. I know how I feel when my earthly parents praise me for my efforts, how much more satisfied will I be knowing My Father in Heaven delights in me!
What gives you great joy? In the talk by Susan B. Tanner, recently released General YW President, she lists some of the things she delights in,
In the Book of Mormon we read Nephi speak of delighting in the things of the Lord. And in the great Eternal plan… this plan of Happiness.
Even in the midst of his affliction, Nephi remembers his blessings, which enables him to be lifted and endure through his trials
How many of us take the time to review our blessings in the midst of our trials?
I know for me, as I struggle with the adjustments of a new baby, a new house and a never-ending list of chores and tasks, I struggle to find the silver lining. As I have taken the time this week to think of things, which DELIGHT me, I realize that the drudgery of Life has gotten the best of me these past 3 months.
While focusing on that which I delight in I have been allowed To take the time for
my heart to be lifted up in joy when I see my children learn & discover, and to smile inside and out when I realize that my love for them is eternal. I have an increase of patience when I focus on the precious moments I share with my children.
I have re-focused on the areas in my mind where I know I can find happiness.
There have been stages in my life that in the thick of the toughest times I am at peace. I know this is because I am seeking the spirit, and praying for guidance I have great Faith that at the end of the trial is a great blessing, whether that may come from a great personal change, or the sure knowledge that I am HIS child, and he is walking beside me.
Other things for us to Delight in are:
Our divine roles as nurturers, the privilege we have to teach, direct and love these little spiritual beings. Do we delight in the daily task of rearing our children, do we let them know HOW much Delight they bring to our hearts?
I have fond memories of spending time with my grand parents, and having them point out numerous reasons they were proud of me, areas that they noticed I had improved, or positive qualities I had. I relished in the praise, I glowed with the knowledge that I had done SOMETHING to be proud of.
Is it wisdom with age, which enables our grandparents to commend and praise our youth? Or is it that they see life is precious, short and ever changing, and that the time to praise is now, when the thought occurs.
If the thoughts do not come naturally make it a goal, to only focus or comment on the wonderful things your child has done, if you cant find one, simply say “ I love the way you smile!” or “ I appreciate that you have so much energy!”
I Delight in sharing Temple experiences with my daughter, I anticipate the weddings and ordinances of my children. I know I can take more time to share with my children the reasons why I keep my covenants; I can share with them the areas I have been blessed by my obedience. I can delight in my testimony.
I Delight in the Gospel. We have such a blessed life because of the teachings of our gospel, we have Family Home evenings, family prayer & scripture study, the standards set out in for the strength of youth. What strength this has giving to our family and to my children, to have a prophet of god set out standards and rules that we will be greatly blessed if we follow .
Do we delight in Missionary work?
Do we share with our friends, neighbors and acquaintances what Delights us? Tradition usually is that we gather together, and share in our anguish, we relish in being able to one-up the pain and agony we are facing in life at that moment. Can replace this with sharing our scriptural studies, or insight and blessings, our answer to prayers?
What would happen to ourselves and those we associate with if we, instead spend our time-sharing our wonderful, happy, uplifting events ? Would we all recognize that we indeed have more blessings than we realized?
Do we delight in our families; do we delight in the noise, joy, work, pleasure, and all things pertaining to our families? I know we all chose to have families, but are we spending our time in Delight, or in counting down the days when they will leave us alone…. I know I have spent time both ways, and… Delighting in their noise and busyness is fare more peaceful and enjoyable!
Family Home evening has the purpose of teaching and guiding our children, and giving us the opportunity to delight in their interest in the Gospel. Do we delight in our scheduled Family Home evening?
Do we delight in our scripture’s? Do we spend our time reading and getting to know our prophets of old? Do we know them, and love them? Have we taken an issue to the lord with total faith that He will answer us? Do we encourage our siblings with love and share with them our righteous desires for them to return to our heavenly home with us. Or do we condemn them, and judge them un-righteously?
Do we delight in wholesome books? Or do we spend more energy reading books of the world, that are not uplifting and encouraging. Do we spend our times reading of despair, rather than faith, do we spend hours and hours delving into the current fashionable books while perusing our scriptures for a mere minute or two?
Do you delight in the things of the Lord? Do you seek opportunities to do his work, do you smile every day, do you speak with him every day, do you bow on your knees in submission and respect, letting him know you seek his strength, guidance, counsel, Do you Delight in obeying his commands as he urges you to change, or as he asks you to grow?
For some this Mothers day brings sorrow, it brings to light all the areas of which we need to improve, or it may remind us of hurts suffered as a Mother. But the Lord loves us, he wants us to be happy, he delights in our righteous decisions, he wants to take way our pain, and as we allow him to lift our burdens he will bring joy to our hearts and minds.
I delight in the opportunity I have to learn from the scriptures, I Delight in the many great examples I have here on this Earth today. I Delight in making good choices and feeling the consequences in my heart. I Delight in the opportunity to have a family, and the Honor it is to raise my children.
I will re-double my efforts to delight in my daily events, I will strive to see the positive while handling life: as in the commonly shared poem being grateful:
Lord, thank you for this sink of dirty dishes; we have plenty of food to eat. Thank you for this pile of dirty, stinky laundry; we have plenty of clothes to wear. And I would like to thank you, Lord, for those unmade beds; they were so warm and comfortable last night. I know that many have no bed.
My thanks to you, Lord, for this bathroom, complete with all the splattered mirrors, soggy, grimy towels, and dirty lavatory; they are so convenient. Thank you for this finger-smudged refrigerator that needs cleaning inside and out. It has served us faithfully for many years and has food in it for several meals. Thank you, Lord for this oven that absolutely must be cleaned today. It has baked so many things over the years.
The whole family is grateful for that tall grass that needs mowing and the lawn that needs raking; we all enjoy the yard. Thank you, Lord, even for that slamming door; my kids are healthy and able to run and play.
Lord, the presence of all these chores awaiting me says that you have richly blessed my family. I shall do them cheerfully and I shall do them gratefully.
I will add mine to the list:
Potty training, at least I have a potty to use
Teenager training for she is a reliable source for company
Midnight feedings, a chance to cherish my new babe
Garden work, and the hope there will be a harvest
Tattle telling at least my children have a sibling to rival with.
Bills to pay.. so grateful we have the job and money to keep paying them!
It is time I learn to appreciate all the magnificent areas of which I am the steward; I hope that one day I may be entrusted with more, by showing I am willing to take care of what I have now.
May we all Delight in the Things of the Lord, may we as mothers nurture one another, lift one another and seek out the things of the Lord to Delight in.
