The nurture of children is a monumental responsibility and a glorious one. President Ezra Taft Benson reminded us, "Motherly teaching takes time—lots of time.” Good mothering involves body, mind, and spirit. And because it does, each of us must choose how to spend our time in fulfilling this eternal responsibility. In the Doctrine and Covenants we are warned, "Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength.”
Sisters, focus on what you can do as a mother in the time that you have. Mothering does take lots of time, but you can't do everything. So, prayerfully consider your family's needs and personalities. Prioritize your tasks according to your circumstances. Then, attend to those needs as best you can in the time you have. Value your family time because it is priceless. Do the best you can. If you've honestly done your best, then don't feel guilty. Just thank Heavenly Father for your family and your opportunity to serve, nurture, enjoy, and teach them.
You may have to let go of some tasks in order to spend your time on what matters most. Here are a couple of pieces of homespun advice from anonymous sources. You may have heard them before.
Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow,
For babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow;
So quiet down cobwebs; dust, go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby—and babies don't keep.
And this:
Cleaning the house
While the children are growing
Is like shoveling snow
While it's still snowing
Not every woman will marry. Not every woman will bear children. It is my sincere and heartfelt desire that those who are among that number are not hurt by all these comments about mothering and families. First, remember that all belong to a family. Second, mothering also can and must be done by aunts, sisters, cousins, and so on. We can strengthen families without being the mother.
Ces! your blog is in a totally different language!
ReplyDeleteyup, did it for a changed :-0 thanks for dropping by, Ron and for the comments and also for following!
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