Thirty Years from Now

I have a child who (do you just cringe when you see me start a blog post like this?) conveys the feeling that mom and dad are evil and out to get said child. Where does this come from?

We sat at Family Home Evening this evening, and I just knew it had to be addressed. We were nearly done with the lesson, and I asked if I could have a few moments to bring up a point.  I was granted that time, and dove in.

My question..."What do you picture for our family? I mean really off in the distant future."

One child responded: "Together in heaven."

I shared that I felt that was great, but I wanted something a bit more reachable.  Something that would happen before that time arrived.

I asked them to look forward thirty years.  It took a few moments to regain quiet as everyone had to share how old he/she would be to everyone else, but once composure was regained, I asked, "Okay. It's thirty years from now. You receive an invitation to come to Thanksgiving in this very house. Let me tell you what it looks like. You enter this very room, and there's a table that runs the length of the room. Who will be at that table?"

Each replied with "I will."

I interjected: "Only you?"

It was quickly shared that they would bring their wives/husbands and their children.  That picture alone brought my heart near to bursting. I could practically see them. How exciting that will be!

I asked each child individually, will you be there?  Will you bring your family to my house?

They each assured me that they would.

I shared with them that the time to prepare for that Thanksgiving thirty years away begins now. That Thanksgiving will prepare us for living together forever.

Earlier in the meeting, #1 had been called upon to share a scripture. She shared Moses 1:39--"For behold, this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."

I shared with our children that in this scripture lies our motive as their parents.  Our job, as their parents, is to help with what that scripture is saying. My purpose as a mother is to guide them, teach them, and direct them toward eternal life. The reason I breathe, the reason I get up every morning and make the decisions I do is to help them attain eternal life. I assured them that I'm not perfect. Even though I have many years on them, that advancement in age in no way makes me infallible. I have a long way to go just like they do. I told them that I would quickly forgive them for their mistakes if they'd also forgive me.

Then I lowered the boom. I asked them what we would be like when we died. Were we suddenly going to be perfect and happy with everybody? Were our personalities going to change in the blink of an eye? I assured them that they would not. The feelings we have when we die are those we will have when we cross over to the other side. Our bitterness or our happiness will remain the same.

That being the case, shouldn't we strive everyday to do better than we did the day before? Shouldn't we try to be a little more patient, a little more loving, a little more forgiving? We discussed this for a little while.

That Thanksgiving thirty years from now can be heavenly if we learn to have heaven here now. It's now our challenge to make our home a heavenly place. A place that if we were suddenly to find ourselves there, we wouldn't know the difference. We wouldn't know we'd even left.