This week was a crazy one. Crazy but really eye opening. Overall a really really good week. My second oldest nephew went into the MTC (Missionary Training Center) on Wednesday and I am so very pleased with his decision to share his testimony of Jesus Christ. In just a few weeks my oldest nephew will join him. I can hardly believe they are that old but I am so happy for them both!
Because of their decisions to serve we were all able to attend the Temple together this last Tuesday. wow, if ever I have wanted to take a picture in the temple it was Tuesday afternoon. I did not take a physical picture but I spent quite a long time making a mental picture. I know this sounds cheesy but it was the most beautiful thing I think I've ever seen. My two nephews sat together on a couch with smiles on their faces. Just to their right was my mom, surrounded by my older brother and his wife, my oldest sister and her husband, and my "little" brother and his pregnant wife (so excited about the new baby). Their faces so happy and peaceful. I sat next to my dad and we both, with tears in our eyes, tried to absorbed the scene before us. Three generations of my family together, all dressed in white. I know it maybe sounds simple and unimpressive but it made a huge impression on me.
It impressed upon my heart that my family is eternal. That although marriage isn't always easy it is worth it. I knew all of this but to be honest it's been a long time since I've spent any time really thinking about it. I am so grateful to my parents for sticking it out 40+ years and to my grandparents before them. So grateful they taught me that some things are bigger than ourselves and our immediate wants. I am so grateful for the temple. For knowledge that my family will be my family forever and that the experience I had last Tuesday can be one of many many more. I love my family. Each one of them, although they are not perfect, has been an example to me. I have learned so much from each of them and they have made me who I am today.
