As I'm getting ready to send my children out of the protection of my home and back into the world of school, I find myself feeling somewhat melancholy. Am I doing enough as a mother? Am I spending enough time with them, loving them enough, teaching them enough? Am I helping them strengthen their testimonies of the Savior and His gospel?
This morning on my run (yay! I'm still going), I listened to Sister Julie Beck's talk, Mother's Who Know.
She tell us:
"The responsibility mothers have today has never required more vigilance. More than at any time in the history of the world, we need mothers who know. Children are being born into a world where they “wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). However, mothers need not fear. When mothers know who they are and who God is and have made covenants with Him, they will have great power and influence for good on their children."
MOTHER'S WHO KNOW:
-Place value on being a mother
-Honor sacred ordinance and covenants
-Point their children towards the temple
-Create a climate for spiritual and temporal growth in their homes
-Know that home is where woman have the most power and influence
-Are leaders in an equal partnership with their husbands
-Plan- for missions, temple marriages, education, family prayer, scripture study, and family home evenings
-Are selective about their own activities and involvement, conserving their limited strength in order to maximize their influence where it matters most.
-Are always teachers
-Do less:
-They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally.
-Less media, less distractions, less activity that draws their children out of the home.
-They willing live on less and consume less of the world’s goods in order to spend more time with their
children.
-Spend more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, and exemplifying.
-Have a goal to prepare future fathers and mothers who will be builders of the Lord’s kingdom
-Love the Lord and bear testimony of Him
-Do not give up during difficult and discouraging times
Each day I can strive to be a Mother Who Knows. In the words of President Hinckley:
"We have a greater challenge than we realize. …'Do the best you can.’ But I want to emphasize that it be the very best. … We are capable of doing so much better. …We must get on our knees and plead with the Lord for help and strength and direction. We must then stand on our feet and move forward.” (Worldwide Leadership Training Mtg, 2004)
Thank you Sister Beck for the pep-talk! Mother of the Year, here I come.