Finding Joy in the Journey

Life for us lately has been in a constant state of change, chaotic, and stressful, to say the least.  Our situation right now is extremely hard on me.  I hate that I have to leave my Baby Boy and my husband for three long nights a week to go to work so that we can pay our bills and have health insurance.  I pout.  I get mad.  I get mean.  And I take it out on Daddy Park...who I love more than anything.  None of those things help our situation.  In fact, they make it all the more miserable. 

Tonight I was googling...trying to find a quote by President Monson that I read last Sunday.  Instead I stumbled across a talk he gave at the October 2008 General Conference, Finding Joy in the Journey.

Funny how when you pray for things you want, the Lord instead gives you what you need.  And right now I need help dealing...and a swift kick in the butt.  This talk was the kick I needed. 

I want Park to find a job so that I can quit working and stay at home with my Baby Boy.  Instead, the Lord wants me to be patient and "find joy" during this crazy "journey" that Park and I are on.  I cannot let this short, but difficult blip in our lives interfere with my relationship with my husband.  Instead of worrying about the time I don't get to spend with my Baby Boy, I need to be grateful for, and make the most of, the time I do get to spend with him.  This life is so short.  I don't want it to pass me by as I am sitting on the sidelines feeling sorry for myself.

You can read the talk here, but here are some of the words that affected me the most. 

"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.

If 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.

If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly.

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.” 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."

So.  This is my very public vow to stop pouting and start enjoying our journey...with a smile on my face.  Because no matter how crazy it is, I wouldn't want to spend it with anyone other than my two Park's...and it could always, ALWAYS, be worse.