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"You have not failed as long as you have tried."
I took this phrase from October's visiting teaching message. Alone, this phrase has multiple meaning. How would they apply? Can you think of them?
School. Writing. Home.
It is a promise given to us straight from a prophet's mouth on behalf of our young ones. Can you think of good parents with wayward children? Have you wondered how that happened? Do you worry about your parenting skills or even blame yourself for their wrong choices?
I do. All the time.
I think of Jacob and how he lost his young son, Joseph who was sold into Egypt by his corrupted older brothers. Jacob was a good parent. What about Lehi and Sariah? They were good parents and yet, Laman and Lemuel were not. There are countless other examples--even around us today of good parents with struggling children.
I often worry how my kids will go about life with the teachings I have nurtured them with.
When I read this message, my heart was filled. Can it be? Can I really trust in that promise? The Spirit answered me yes!
I take great comfort in those ten small words. Words of the Lord given by President Gorden B. Hinckley.
I know that as long as we do our best in this lifetime by following Christ's teachings we will not fail in our duty as parents.
Thanks for the reminder. Homeschooling can be a wee bit discouraging/overwhelming on the off day.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post, Liz. I totally agree. I have a friend who beats herself up about the bad choices her daughter has made over the years. She blames herself, even though she is a great parent and her other children have made better choices.
ReplyDeleteI also think this can happen with our writing. We get a few rejection slips from agents and publishers and we think our writing is bad. We don't take into consideration the fact that the people who send them have thousands of other manuscripts to read or that maybe they were just having a bad day. We also may not consider that the Lord has other plans, that perhaps that agent on that day is not a good fit. Things will happen in His time if we have faith and trust Him.
We should never give up on our children OR OUR DREAMS. Both are in the hands of the Lord and with patience, will find their way.