A thought for today!

I never intended for this blog to become entirely gospel focused, but lately that seems to be all that merits my posting. I read this just a little while ago and thought it was really thought provoking and deserved a little attention....

It is a story from the conference talk "The Power of Covenants" by Elder D. Todd Christofferson

On August 15, 2007, Peru suffered a massive earthquake that all but destroyed the coastal cities of Pisco and Chincha. Like many other Church leaders and members, Wenceslao Conde, the president of the Balconcito Branch of the Church in Chincha, immediately set about helping others whose homes were damaged.

Four days after the earthquake, Elder Marcus B. Nash of the Seventy was in Chincha helping to coordinate the Church's relief efforts there and met President Conde. As they talked about the destruction that had occurred and what was being done to help the victims, President Conde's wife, Pamela, approached carrying one of her small children. Elder Nash asked Sister Conde how her children were. With a smile, she replied that through the goodness of God they were all safe and well. He asked about the Condes' home.

"It's gone," she said simply.

"What about your belongings?" he inquired.

"Everything was buried in the rubble of our home," Sister Conde replied.

"And yet," Elder Nash noted, "you are smiling as we talk."

"Yes," she said, "I have prayed and I am at peace. We have all we need. We have each other, we have our children, we are sealed in the temple, we have this marvelous Church, and we have the Lord. We can build again with the Lord's help."

So, my thoughts today on this very simple but powerful story are very basic. First, I think we all need to consider these most important things in our lives. I ask myself a few questions: How is my relationship with my family? Do they know how much I love them and value them over everything else? Have I let my goals, hobbies, or just plain business get in the way of important things? Am I always remembering that my relationship with God, my membership in the Church, and my relationship with my family hold more importance than ANY other thing?

Anyways, I just thought it was a great story. I realize that in life we all make mistakes in this area at times. I just wanted to say though that I love my family. I am so grateful for them and I would never want to let any small or trivial thing get in the way of my love for them. I love the gospel and I know it is true. I know that each day I need to try a little harder to grow so I can help the people around me. I hope you are all having a great day today and I hope something in this story can inspire you! :)