To my kids,
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"Is family work a God-ordained necessary evil? Or do we ignore its true nature? In fact, ordinary household work that is often considered a waste of time can be a time of closeness and fun that strengthens family bonds and develops Christlike virtues...
Family work provides endless opportunities to recognize and fill others' needs. It thus teaches us to love and serve one another, inviting us to be like Jesus Christ...
Few things in life are as small , simple, or of seemingly little value as the everyday tasks we do for family members."I know you guys hate that I make you do things around the house, but these statements from my text book give a little glimpse into my reasoning. I want you to see how serving someone, even someone in your own family, can make you feel. It helps us get a small hint of what our Savior has done for us. Serving one another brings us closer to him. Also, I want you to be able to take care of yourselves when you no longer live with dad and me. I know that doing your own laundry, loading/unloading the dishwasher (we still need to work on hand washing dishes!), and cleaning the bathroom is no fun at all, but those whom you will live with in the future will be glad that you have these skills.
I think part of why we should work together as a family is so we can spend that time together doing something constructive rather than just staring at the television. Not that TV and movie watching isn't good family time, it can be, but there are other things we can do together as a family that will help us grow closer to one another. Working together, be it in the house, or in the yard, or in serving someone else, gives us time to talk to one another and maybe share things that we haven't had an opportunity to discuss before. Doing mundane tasks like hand washing dishes or pulling weeds, gives you mind an opportunity to wander and ponder on things in your life.
I hope you guys enjoy spending time with Dad or me when we ask you to help us do something. I know it's usually pulling you away from something much more important, but please know that we ask for you help because we need it, or we just want to spend time with you. Don't ever give up that chance. And, please remember that when you are parents. Kids don't stay little too long, get your time in while you can. I still remember my brothers and I fighting over who would get to go to the dump with grandpa. I really don't think it was because the dump was such an exciting place, I think it was more because then we could spend time with grandpa one-on-one.
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Never forget that your dad and I love you!
