Its in the moments

One of the themes for our stake this year has been Pres. Uchtdorf's Conference talk "Of Things That Matter Most."  We've had talks, lessons, and a good portion of Ward Conference that focused on this talk.  When given last October the words touched my heart.  I couldn't wait to get my Ensign to read it again and again and again.  The talk was a huge motivator in my decision to quit working.  When it was picked as a theme for the Stake I was very excited.  Slowly my excitement has turned to frustration.

I'm naturally a very busy person.  I have a lot of things on my plate, things I've arbitrarily put there and others that must get done.  I have schedules and lists and goals and such to help me take care of all the things on my plate.  As I listened to the often quoted portion of the talk from Elder Dallin H. Oaks "We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best. . ." I heard you aren't doing enough.  Often mentioned were times that the dishes were left in the sink, the laundry left undone, the floor left unswept to participate in meaningful family time.  As the jobs left undone fall to me at our home, this was hard to hear.  I wanted the meaningful family time, but didn't want to come back to do the jobs by myself.

I think every mother feels inadequate at times.  I've always struggled with the work/life balance.  I know there is a time and a season for everything but much like Veruca from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory I want the whole world and I want it now.  I want time to cross stitch, quilt, write, read, clean, sort, cook, can, garden, weed, teach, and have fun, oh and all that church stuff too reading scriptures, preparing lessons, going to the temple, doing genealogy, etc.  But there is never enough time in the day to get it all done (okay maybe I'd get more done if I didn't need 8 hrs of sleep each night, but I do).  Hearing good, better, best made me feel like I had a vice around me.  During ward conference when the subject came up, I had to walk out of the room because I started having a panic attack. 

And then someone posted this on Facebook.

And I remembered why I loved the talk in the first place.  "We would do well to slow down a little . . . and truly see the things that matter most . . . Strength comes not from frantic activity but from being settled on a firm foundation of truth and light. It comes from placing our attention and efforts on the basics of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It comes from paying attention to the divine things that matter most."

In all the things that must get done to survive, I'm so thankful to be reminded to take time to answer why buffalo's have wings, listen to a made up joke, look at a piece of artwork, share a tickle, and remember to laugh.  The life worth living is found in all the moments between everything that has to get done.  Don't forget to savor them.