Joy #3 - Goodly parents

Mom and Dad were here last weekend (with their new trailer - how fun!!) and we had a very pleasant time visiting and sightseeing with them. As I looked back on the weekend I could see so many incidents that just showed me how much of a positive influence my parents still are on my life. We walked on Friday morning after dropping off the children at school and had a great conversation about civil and religious freedoms, the rule of law, and the proper role (if any) war has in any society. The conversation was interesting and challenging, but best of all, it was spiritually uplifting. Examples from the Book of Mormon and other scriptures came into play, and I was just so impressed that my parents and I can have such great discussions. Dad shared some ideas he had heard in church talks, and we ended up at home with my mind a bit more enlightened and my thinking elevated. I was also impressed that we sat down to watch conference together, and they got up and studied scriptures with us on the days we got up (at 5:30am.) What a great example to my children this was, to see that Grandma and Grandpa value the things that we value. I am so grateful that they have been this type of example to me my whole life. I didn't realize until I was an adult what a challenging background my dad had to overcome. He came from an abusive, alcoholic, poverty-stricken home and although I know his parents loved him very much, family circumstances made growing up quite a challenge. Many people don't come out of an upbringing like this very well. His siblings all still exhibit varying degrees of serious lifestyle issues. And yet my dad married my mom in the temple, raised us 6 kids and has remained active in the church, currently serving as bishop. He has been a great dad and I love him so much. I'm sure the strong positive influence of my mother has been the single greatest factor in keeping him close to the straight and narrow. She is a strong-willed, intelligent, educated woman. Her example has helped me become the kind of woman I am today, and I like who I am. Both of my parents had parents who divorced, and yet they have managed to create a strong, enduring marriage that I aspire to emulate in my life. Were my parents perfect? No, of course not. But likewise, I am not perfect, and yet I strive to do better each day because that's what I saw them do. And if I can have an end result (of course things are far from over) like they seem to have, i.e. happy children with healthy families of their own, active in the gospel and contributing to society in a positive way, interacting as friends and supporters of each other, then I will be satisfied that I have followed their example and benefited from their struggles and accumulated wisdom.