Today I had the pleasure of attending a meeting that I no longer know what they call it. It used to be SEOP, then it was SEP - still is SEP at the elementary but at the middle school it is something entirely different. Anyhow, it was a conference at the middle school with Natty and her advisor. I sat there dumbfounded wondering what the heck is going through Natty's head. She does good work. Her grades are excellent on the things that she turns in. The problem is that she fails to turn in so many assignments that the overall grade is not so good. Oh my goodness. I am doing what I can to try and emphasize the importance of turning in our work but she seems much more interested right now in the social aspect of school that she places no value in the academic side. So yes, it was a great pleasure to visit the school today. We will get this corrected. I have had to restrict her from a few things but it has to happen.
So after our visit to the school we went back to The Little Brick House to help close up the shop. We visited about some things before we went in. I am going to note one or two of those thoughts here but will also expand a bit more on some other thoughts. Well call it the P's. Originally I titled this 3 P's though I have had at least one additional P come to mind so I may have to change it.
The first P is for Prophets. I have a testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and believe that we are blessed with modern day Prophets and Apostles. I sustain President Thomas S. Monson as the Lord's Prophet on the Earth today. I know that as we follow the Prophet we are following the Savior and we are doing the things that the Lord would have us do. I also know that following a Prophet of God is not always easy, it is not always the popular thing to do. It may require us to be different, to be in the minority, to be scoffed at or belittled. Those things may happen but it doesn't matter, following the Prophet of God is always right. I wish that I were perfect in my desire to follow the Prophet but no doubt I come up short. I do hope that despite my weaknesses and my failures that my children are strengthened and that their testimonies of the Lord and his Prophet are built on a solid foundation.
The next three P's are Patriarch, Priesthood and Protection. I am the Patriarch of our home and as such I have a sacred responsibility to lead my family in righteousness. That is not a responsibility that I can take lightly. I have three children entrusted to my care and though there are times when I feel overwhelmed, when I feel inadequate and when I struggle I know that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and is aware of me. I have felt that reassurance many times of the last few years. I don't believe that those feelings come just by chance. I have made decisions that help me to honor the Priesthood which I bear, decisions that help me to draw closer to the Savior and help me find strength to persevere and press forward when times are challenging. Through that Priesthood there is Protection for my family. I truly believe that. I shared with Natty some of the struggles I had when it became just me and the kids while living in Florida. There were some challenges with Church and there were many Sundays when I really did not want to go. It would have been so much easier to stay home and not deal with the embarrassment of a failed marriage, with the challenges that existed with Jack and Andy at the time. In my mind there was some pretty strong opposition to going to church and enduring what seemed like three hours of hell. Alas I knew that we needed to be there, I needed to be the Patriarch of the home and lead my family to where they should be. And so each week we went. Each week was a challenge but we went with faith that the Lord would strengthen us. I believe that he did. I drew near to the Lord in certain things and He drew near to me.
Well, I've rambled there some. I hope what I have written makes sense. There were other thoughts and I might have to come back to this and further develop some things but I think I am going to close now.
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