The night of February 4, on the anniversary of the departure of the Saints from Nauvoo (in 1846) I dreamed that I finally learned how to spend time with my wife by learning to follow my father’s example.
My father worked hard all his life to provide for the family, and in so doing, was gone from them most of the time. He tried to magnify callings, study and learn, and try to be ever better qualified for the Lord’s service; but he had to be forced into early retirement in order to be available with his wife as missionaries in Chile. Her serious health problems began after the mission, and my father spent fifteen of his last twenty five years learning to make his wife the first priority of his life, including dedicating four years to her full time care while she was completely helpless.
Now the Lord is trying to help me understand that no success can compensate for failure in the home; that a man is not whole without a help meet and companion; that no other assignment or act of service is more important than fostering the love and trust of my wife. When I left on my first mission, my father counseled me to allow folks to serve me, because that is how love grows in them, and their lives are blessed. I hope I can learn to love and serve my wife now while we are young and healthy temple missionaries.
In our old age we will need each other more and more, but we can’t wait for that day to come. We must learn to need each other now. As we serve each other selfishlessly, our love will begin to mature, and we will learn to be more like our Savior.
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