I felt somewhat ridiculous including such a low-effort goal on this list, but the fact of the matter is my temple attendance has been sadly lacking since
The sad thing is, I'm sure that actually going to the temple regularly during all these giant, life changing events would have made things easier, not harder. You are blessed for going to the temple, that much I know. I was just having a hard time getting there.
But last month we finally worked out the logistics and went. There actually was a Sacrament Meeting that focused on temple attendance a while ago, and what one of the speakers said was a revelation: You don't have to attend the temple with your spouse. OH! It all makes sense now! So the new plan is to take a trip to Detroit every month and take turns going to the temple, so we'd be going every other month individually. That way we don't have to stress about leaving the girls with a babysitter for 6 hours at least, or finding someone to trade with, etc. Not that people wouldn't be willing, I'm sure they would be. It's just one more thing, ya know?
April was month #1, and I got to go do a session. It was absolutely wonderful. It was exactly what I needed. The peace felt there is otherworldly. Literally. All my stress melted away, and I was reminded of what is most important in life. And it's not selling our house (still for sale!), or stewing about Ella's weight gain (she's doing much better now!), or all the hundred other little things that crop up in the course of a day. Those things need to be attended to, but they aren't the most important thing. The most important thing is the gospel, the plan of salvation, and if we hold true to that, everything else will fall into place. I am so grateful that we made the effort to get to the temple. I only wish we'd done it sooner.
3 comments:
Boy, do I ever understand your temple dilemma. We actually did our first ever leave the kids with someone here for 8 hours to go to the temple ourselves two months ago and we've lived here for almost 2.5 years. It's hard with pregnancy, newborns, finding babysitters, feeling guilty for being gone that long, etc. We mostly went when we were in Utah and it was really only a 2-3 hr excursion and babysitters were family.
However, we have done the switch off a couple of times. Last weekend, we had many things to do in the Phoenix area so we just each did a session of initiatories and that worked really well. You've got to be creative when you have young children and a temple that isn't so conveniently located. I am glad you were able to escape the world for a couple of hours in there. It really is so rejuvenating.
It sounds like you've got a great plan. You will be blessed for your efforts.
Shannon, my daughter lives in Wisconsin and their closest temple is Chicago. They take a Saturday each month and leave in the morning, then take turns going into the temple. She feeds the baby right before she goes in and her husband takes the kids to a nearby kid's museum. Then he drives to the temple and he goes in while she takes them back to the museum or to the park. Then they all drive back. Even the kids love temple day. It sounds like a similar plan to yours, but, anyway, there's another idea.
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