j . a . m . k . m . b: Happy Birthday Clint and a few other things

Pres. Thomas S. Monson, Oct 2008

"This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and non-existent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now.

... Professor Harold Hill, one of the principal characters in [The Music Man], voices a caution that I share with you. Says he, “You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll find you’ve collected a lot of empty yesterdays.”

f you have children who are grown and gone, in all likelihood you have occasionally felt pangs of loss and the recognition that you didn’t appreciate that time of life as much as you should have. Of course, there is no going back, but only forward. Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future.

Stresses in our lives come regardless of our circumstances. We must deal with them the best we can. But we should not let them get in the way of what is most important—and what is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, “They do not love that do not show their love.”³ We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us.

Send that note to the friend you’ve been neglecting; give your child a hug; give your parents a hug; say “I love you” more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. Friends move away, children grow up, loved ones pass on. It’s so easy to take others for granted, until that day when they’re gone from our lives and we are left with feelings of “what if” and “if only.” Said author Harriet Beecher Stowe, “The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.”

In the 1960s, during the Vietnam War, Church member Jay Hess, an airman, was shot down over North Vietnam. For two years his family had no idea whether he was dead or alive. His captors in Hanoi eventually allowed him to write home but limited his message to less than 25 words. What would you and I say to our families if we were in the same situation—not having seen them for over two years and not knowing if we would ever see them again? Wanting to provide something his family could recognize as having come from him and also wanting to give them valuable counsel, Brother Hess wrote—and I quote: “These things are important: temple marriage, mission, college. Press on, set goals, write history, take pictures twice a year.”

Said one well-known author: “Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend . . . when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present—love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us [happiness]—the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth.”

Said the Lord in a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith, “In nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things.”¹⁰ May we be found among those who give our thanks to our Heavenly Father. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues.

Brothers and sisters, my sincere prayer is that we may adapt to the changes in our lives, that we may realize what is most important, that we may express our gratitude always and thus find joy in the journey."

Monday, November 5, 2007

Happy Birthday Clint and a few other things

First off, happy birthday to Clint over the weekend - wish we could have been there to celebrate with you guys! We hope you had a good time with your family and friends!

Provo house #2 seems to be coming right along under the watchful eye of Cameron and CW Construction. We're excited to see it progress, and we look forward to testing the real estate market once again to see if we can sell this baby. We think it'll be no problem because we will have such a great agent this time (Christine)! When I first saw the pictures of this house, I thought it was a hotel or a ski lodge...I think we might actually fit in that house ourselves. Actually, we would probably fit in about 1/4 of that house. But we'd sure like to try to live such that we actually lost a kid in the "East Wing" every once in a while. As it is now, we're not in danger of having one of the kids feel isolated from the rest of the family...

I don't know if any of you saw the announcement this morning about the Google foray into mobile phone operating systems. This replaces the speculation about Google selling its own phone, but it's exciting for us nonetheless. From what I have heard, our operating systems will be the basis for some pretty sweet phones and features.

Finally, lest you think I've moved on from my obsessions, let me just say there was some fun football over the weekend. It was great to have BYU back in action after a very long layoff from meaningful games. They played pretty well and beat one of those teams they're supposed to beat. This week will be a much sterner test - I'm hoping they can come through on Thursday. Texas executed yet another stunning 4th quarter comeback against OSU, but unfortunately we didn't get to watch it as we were shown the very exciting (NOT!) PAC 10 game of the week. And finally, I watched the Patriots-Colts game last night in fast motion and that was a great game as well.

I'm going to post again in a few minutes with our Halloween pictures - you'll love the one of Morgan!

j . a . m . k . m . b

Pres. Thomas S. Monson, Oct 2008

Monday, November 5, 2007

Happy Birthday Clint and a few other things

No comments:

Important Links

Blog Archive