j . a . m . k . m . b: Great / Not Great

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."

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Great / Not Great

After an unannounced hiatus of a couple of weeks, we're back in California, and I'm back in the blogging business. It's customary for me to try and summarize the highlights and other items of a trip, and I'll try to do so here, although I'm bound to forget something/someone so don't be mad if I do...

-the drive to Utah was great - perfect weather, made great time
-Las Vegas bowl was NOT great - BYU was so disappointing in the end
-hanging with both fams was great
-getting the flu was not great (Brig, Micah, John)
-skiing was great - just wish we could have gone more (see flue bullet point above)
-snowmobiling and sledding at the cabin were great - thanks MattMax!
-ice skating was not great (for me, but the kids loved it) - that might just be the most painful "recreational activity" there is... no injuries, just ouch! on the feet and shins
-sledding in SLC and Provo were great because of the cousins
-Christmas Eve at the Richards was great
-Christmas morning at the Richards was great
-Christmas day at the LeBras was great
-getting just the right Christmas gifts for the kids (type, amount, etc.) was great
-all the food the whole trip was great
-the amount of food I ate the whole trip was NOT great
-basketball with the brothers and some friends was absolutely great (2 1/2 hours!)
-the rest of the day after basketball with the brothers was not great
-playing with my new G1 Dream phone courtesy of Google was great
-our inability to see friends was not great (snow, sickness, lack of time)
-lots of snow was great
-the cold was not great
-movies were great - Bolt, Seven Pounds, Bedtime Stories, GhostTown (one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time!)
-New Years Eve dinner at Matt & Debby's, dodgeball at the Cowley's, and foosball tournament/fun at Spencer & Molly's were all great
-a couple of near-misses on renting our Provo house were definitely NOT great
-the baptism was great
-singing with my brother and dad was great
-I mentioned the food right? yep, it was great
-relaxing was great
-packing up the car to come home was not great (how did we get so many extra things?! oh yeah, Christmas)
-having a clear day to drive home was great
-hitting two extra hours of traffic by Tahoe was not great, but we did get to stop for dinner at Taco Bell so maybe it was ok
-getting home was GREAT
-getting home at 11pm and the temperature in the house being 47 degrees was not great

So there you have it. Another successful and fun trip.

Oh yeah, Brig was playing at his buddies' house yesterday and

split his eye open. He didn't have to have stitches (thank goodness!) but you can see from the picture that it's a nice little cut. He wasn't too happy about it for a while, but I think you'll see a small amount of pride in it by the time I took the picture...

1 comment:

samandbrodi said...: I wish I could have gotten out and played ball with you guys...I know that I needed to. I am glad you guys made it home safely.; January 6, 2009 at 1:55 PM

j . a . m . k . m . b

Pres. Thomas S. Monson, Oct 2008

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Great / Not Great

1 comment:

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