Dear Reader,
You most likely feel at times that there is so much to do and not enough time to do it. Is that right? It is ok to agree. I have often felt that there is a lot that I can't accomplish because my day is too short and lots of things depend on me. That is the reason you are receiving a challenge, should you choose to accept it: make a list of what roles/titles you have. Then, take those roles and put them in order from most important to least important. This may be difficult because it is rather revealing about oneself. If desired, you can take a step further and list out the responsibilities of each role in order.
As a quick example, I have compiled a short list of my most important roles in the order I feel they best should be taken care of. The first of these roles are all crucial to each other and have to be care for simultaneously at times. I encourage you to think of your own list of roles while you read.
1. Child of God
This is above all the most important role. It was hard to decide what came first, but then it became clear that several roles all fell into this particular role (i.e. sinner, saint, servant, etc). It was over whelming to try and list all of those smaller roles, but then they all started meshing together into the most important role of being a child of God and living the Gospel that Heavenly Father has laid out for us. It may sound cliche and repetitive, but do the little things like study the scriptures daily, pray daily and attend church. I know that if at least those three things are happening, you definitely headed in the right direction.
2. Husband
A couple of other roles incorporated with being a child of God also needed to be listed separately because they involve other parts of life and are a little more in-depth. Husband was one of these roles. Husband is a big role in any marriage. It has an extra aspect when you and your spouse are sealed for eternity. You are caring for something that is going to last forever. In my attempts to be a good husband, there are a few daily things that I try to remember. First, expressing love in several different ways every day is very important. I say 'I love you,' try to give service (which I'm not terribly great at), and kiss at least once a day (preferably more). This role is second on my list, because if my relationship with Lauren is good, most everything else seems to fall into place.
3. Father
My apologies to anyone who did not know already that Lauren is pregnant. Surprise! Even though I have no children yet, I have found that that it falls third on my list of roles because I have to prepare for that little boy on his way to this earth. Father is another of the roles that comes from taking care of my living the gospel. It is also intertwined with the responsibilities of being a good husband, even though those come first for me. Being a good father requires, as it says in The Family: A Proclamation to the World, being a provider, a presider, and a protector. For me this means working enough to be able to support the family and making sure they are safe from the physical and spiritual dangers they will encounter.
4. Translator & Interpreter
First off, these are separate roles, but for the purpose of this list, they fulfill the same goal. As it is my profession, it is an auxiliary role for being a good child of God, husband and father. Apart from being a profession, however, these roles are important because they bring fulfillment into my life. It helps to help other people. For those who cannot receive the care they need because of language barriers, the help of an interpreter an/or a translator is needed every day.
5. Musician
Music is vital to my life. After much consideration, it dawned on me that without playing the piano or trumpet or singing, I start losing my vision of life. Thus I decided that being a musician is an essential role in my life and made it to #5 on this list. Music helps me help others and it also brings my family together in just about any situation you can imagine. I am glad that my abilities allow me to carry this role and that it is so significant in my life.
Now, the purpose of this list is not to show you how great my life is or try and show anyone up, it is just to give an idea of what types of roles we can have in our lives. I want you to think about what roles you have and which are most important. Which one is it? Make a list. I want to hear about it. Share it with your family or those close to you. I promise after pin-pointing what roles are most important, that list of things you have to do will seem smaller and you will be more content with life.
You most likely feel at times that there is so much to do and not enough time to do it. Is that right? It is ok to agree. I have often felt that there is a lot that I can't accomplish because my day is too short and lots of things depend on me. That is the reason you are receiving a challenge, should you choose to accept it: make a list of what roles/titles you have. Then, take those roles and put them in order from most important to least important. This may be difficult because it is rather revealing about oneself. If desired, you can take a step further and list out the responsibilities of each role in order.
As a quick example, I have compiled a short list of my most important roles in the order I feel they best should be taken care of. The first of these roles are all crucial to each other and have to be care for simultaneously at times. I encourage you to think of your own list of roles while you read.
1. Child of God
This is above all the most important role. It was hard to decide what came first, but then it became clear that several roles all fell into this particular role (i.e. sinner, saint, servant, etc). It was over whelming to try and list all of those smaller roles, but then they all started meshing together into the most important role of being a child of God and living the Gospel that Heavenly Father has laid out for us. It may sound cliche and repetitive, but do the little things like study the scriptures daily, pray daily and attend church. I know that if at least those three things are happening, you definitely headed in the right direction.
2. Husband
A couple of other roles incorporated with being a child of God also needed to be listed separately because they involve other parts of life and are a little more in-depth. Husband was one of these roles. Husband is a big role in any marriage. It has an extra aspect when you and your spouse are sealed for eternity. You are caring for something that is going to last forever. In my attempts to be a good husband, there are a few daily things that I try to remember. First, expressing love in several different ways every day is very important. I say 'I love you,' try to give service (which I'm not terribly great at), and kiss at least once a day (preferably more). This role is second on my list, because if my relationship with Lauren is good, most everything else seems to fall into place.
3. Father
My apologies to anyone who did not know already that Lauren is pregnant. Surprise! Even though I have no children yet, I have found that that it falls third on my list of roles because I have to prepare for that little boy on his way to this earth. Father is another of the roles that comes from taking care of my living the gospel. It is also intertwined with the responsibilities of being a good husband, even though those come first for me. Being a good father requires, as it says in The Family: A Proclamation to the World, being a provider, a presider, and a protector. For me this means working enough to be able to support the family and making sure they are safe from the physical and spiritual dangers they will encounter.
4. Translator & Interpreter
First off, these are separate roles, but for the purpose of this list, they fulfill the same goal. As it is my profession, it is an auxiliary role for being a good child of God, husband and father. Apart from being a profession, however, these roles are important because they bring fulfillment into my life. It helps to help other people. For those who cannot receive the care they need because of language barriers, the help of an interpreter an/or a translator is needed every day.
5. Musician
Music is vital to my life. After much consideration, it dawned on me that without playing the piano or trumpet or singing, I start losing my vision of life. Thus I decided that being a musician is an essential role in my life and made it to #5 on this list. Music helps me help others and it also brings my family together in just about any situation you can imagine. I am glad that my abilities allow me to carry this role and that it is so significant in my life.
Now, the purpose of this list is not to show you how great my life is or try and show anyone up, it is just to give an idea of what types of roles we can have in our lives. I want you to think about what roles you have and which are most important. Which one is it? Make a list. I want to hear about it. Share it with your family or those close to you. I promise after pin-pointing what roles are most important, that list of things you have to do will seem smaller and you will be more content with life.
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