In the LDS Church, everyone is assigned home (men) and visiting (women) teachers to come by once a month to check in with their assigned people in the ward. Yesterday, our home teachers Kent and Jordan came by to visit and impart some words of wisdom.
Of course, we can never make things easy on anyone.
Kent shared a nice story by Elder Kopischke from LDS General Conference (read the full talk “Being Accepted of the Lord” here):
When I was a boy, I remember my father sometimes taking me with him to work on projects. We had a little garden a few kilometers from where we lived, and there was always so much to do to prepare the garden each season. We worked on the gazebo or built or repaired fences. In my memory this work always occurred in the freezing cold, heavy snow, or pouring rain. But I loved it. My father would teach me how to do things with patience and acceptance.
One day he invited me to tighten a screw and warned, “Remember, if you put it in too tight, it will break.” Proudly, I wanted to show him what I could do. I tightened with all my might, and, of course, I broke the screw. He made a funny comment, and we started over. Even when I “messed up,” I always felt his love and confidence in me. He passed away more than 10 years ago, but I can still hear his voice, sense his love, enjoy his encouragement, and feel his acceptance.
Kent turned to the kids.
“I’m sure you guys help your dad with stuff, right?”
Long pause. “Not really.”
I jumped in. “They help Jamie with the garden but mostly, they help me and I’m always working with them on cooking and housework.”
Kent: “Oh.”
Me: “But kids, what is the moral of this nice story Kent shared?”
Silence.
Jamie jumped in: “THAT THEY NEED TO HELP ME OUT MORE!!!”
Better luck next month, Kent.
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 