I had just gotten back from one of those hair-raising trips to the grocery store or the pharmacy or some other highly populated public area with my three children ages three and under. It always took such a Herculean effort to try to do the simplest tasks with three such small children. And without fail, some well intentioned woman in her golden to platinum years would tell me to “treasure every moment, these are the best years.”
I returned home from the store frustrated and discouraged. I clicked on the TV for my children, and called my sister, Liz.
“Are these really the best years?” I demanded. “People keep telling me that these years are the best, but honestly I’m exhausted all the time. I’m barely keeping my head afloat. And if it just gets harder, I’m going to drown!”
“It gets easier. Your kids are dependent on you in so many ways right now, but give them some time and then it’ll really start getting fun. And honestly, those little old ladies just don’t remember what it was like. It was too long ago for them,” Liz soothed. “Can I tell you a story?”
“Yes, please.” Liz has great stories.
“Last week I decided to make brownies,” she began. “I followed the recipe from the family cookbook and used real vanilla and put them into the oven to bake. About 15 minutes before the brownies were done they smelled amazing. I thought, ‘I should have my brownie now before all the kids come in and want me to dish theirs for them.’ So I pulled the brownies out of the oven and cut myself a piece.
“But as I put that first bite into my mouth instead of getting a delicious brownie, I burned my mouth on a steaming ball of glue. It was disgusting. I had to throw out the brownie I had scooped for myself.
“Do you see where I’m going with this?” she asked. “You are using the right recipe and the right ingredients to make a strong family. You are living the gospel of Jesus Christ. You’re praying together and studying the scriptures. But you’re trying to taste your brownies too soon. They’re not done. It’s going to take some time before you feel like your family is becoming delicious to you.”
We members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, casually called Mormons, are often deeply involved with our families, because we believe that family ties can exist after we die, if we make and keep certain covenants with God. These covenants, or two-way promises, include our increased commitment to honor the commandments as absolute laws. We make these promises within Mormon temples during the endowment ceremony and are given God’s promise that our families will be sealed to us, or kept together with us, for eternity in the marriage ceremony, known as the sealing ceremony. As the strength of our commitment to God increases, so does the eternal bond which unites our families.
This belief in eternal families is one of the most striking doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ. Although most people believe in their hearts that they will see their deceased family members again, most religions make no promise about being together after death. In fact, many Christian religions even specifically proclaim that marriage will be “until death do you part.”
But members of the Church of Jesus Christ stand as witnesses that Heaven would not be Heaven without our loved ones. Our families are fundamental to our well-being here and are the foundational aspect of our happiness in the eternities after this life.
Liz was right. It’s been several years since that desperate phone call, and in that time while my “brownies were baking” a world of joy and fun has opened up for us. As we’ve tried to follow God’s plan for our salvation–the recipe; as we’ve fostered love and compassion, forgiveness and work—the ingredients; and as we’ve let time do it’s work our family has grown stronger.
Right now, I feel like I’ve had some tantalizing whiffs of the brownies that are still baking. And they’re going to take a lifetime to finish. But, oh, how good they will taste in Heaven!
This article was written by Miranda Lotz, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Miranda H. Lotz is a military wife, mother of four, bibliophile and musician. She lives on a remote Air Force station in Cavalier, North Dakota.
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Well said, Miranda. You certainly make us proud and glad. Keep on writing and baking.