Quotes About Family Stress

My current lesson for school is about sources of stress in our families. Here are a couple of quotes that I really appreciated.

From the discussion material written by my professors: "We would like to be perfect parents for our children, but we must remember that parenting is a sanctifying process and that our Father knew that we would make mistakes. His plan did not require that parents act perfectly in order to rear righteous children, but it did require that we work hard to improve our situations, that we love our children, that we serve them, and that we apologize when we make mistakes." -- I really liked the "parenting is a sanctifying process" part. I know when I became a parent it seemed like all of my character flaws were just magnified, and all of a sudden I could see so many of my weaknesses so clearly. A little overwhelming, but I am so grateful for all I have learned in the 6 short years I've been a mother.

Neal A. Maxwell: "When in situations of stress we wonder if there is any more in us to give, we can be comforted to know that God, who knows our capacity perfectly, placed us here to succeed. No one was foreordained to fail or to be wicked. When we have been weighed and found wanting, let us remember that we were measured before and we were found equal to our tasks; and, therefore, let us continue, but with a more determined discipleship. When we feel overwhelmed, let us recall the assurance that God will not overprogram us; he will not press upon us more than we can bear (Doctrine and Covenants 50:40)." (Maxwell, N. A. (1978). Meeting the challenges of today. In Devotional speeches of the year. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University)

And then there are these two quotes by Elder Orson F. Whitney that offer comfort to parents of wayward children. I hope I never have to cling to these promises in regards to my own children, but I'm grateful Heavenly Father is so merciful.

"The Prophet Joseph Smith declared -- and he never taught more comforting doctrine -- that the eternal sealings of faithful parents and the divine promises made to them for valiant service in the Cause of Truth, would save not only themselves, but likewise their posterity. Though some of the sheep may wander, the eye of the Shepherd is upon them, and sooner or later they will feel the tentacles of the Divine Providence reaching out after them and drawing them back to the fold. Either in this life or the life to come, they will return. They will have to pay their debt to justice; they will suffer for their sins; and may tread a thorny path; but if it leads them at last, like the penitent Prodigal, to a loving and forgiving father's heart and home, the painful experience will not have been in vain. Pray for your careless and disobedient children; hold on to them with your faith. Hope on, trust on, till you see the salvation of God." (Pehrson, K. L., Thursby, J. S., & Olson, T. D. (2000). Gospel ideals and adversity in family life. In D. C. Dollahite (Ed.), Strengthening our families: An in-depth look at the proclamation on the family. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft. p. 250)

"You parents of the willful and the wayward! Don't give them up. Don't cast them off. They are not utterly lost. The Shepherd will find his sheep. They were his before they were yours -- long before he entrusted them to your care; and you cannot begin to love them as he loves them. They have but strayed in ignorance from the Path of Right, and God is merciful to ignorance. Only the fullness of knowledge brings the fullness of accountability. Our Heavenly Father is far more merciful, infinitely more charitable, than even the best of his servants, and the Everlasting Gospel is mightier in power to save than our narrow finite minds can comprehend." (Pehrson, 2000, p. 249)