Running the Home with Love

I've spent a lot of time around my parents. For the past two years or so just the three of us lived together at home while I was commuting to school. They love each other immensely. They have had short lived disagreements of course but they are forgiving, and want each other to be happy. My Dad buys my Mother flowers at least once a month. He tells her he loves her at least twice a day. It seems like at least daily he crafts a humorous sentence that communicates to my Mother in resplendence the magnitude of his love for her. At the dinner table we almost always began our meal with witnessing my Father verbally note what he has called the unmatched beauty of our Mother. She would always beam back at him with a big smile and a look of love.

The effect my parents’ relationship has had on me is undoubtedly positive. Sometimes when I was around my parents and didn't know what to say or had doubts about my day or life, my Dad would express his love for my Mom in some funny way, we would all laugh, and my cares would be booted out of the house for a while. That expression of love always made the whole family smile, and allowed us to all get along it seemed. My Dad knew how to create that atmosphere of love within the home because he prays every day and asks Heavenly Father to help him know how to show our Mother he loves her. I have never doubted that my Father loves my Mother a whole lot, and I know their relationship allows us to have peace in our home, and allows us to feel safe there.

The know-how and motivation required to work at and succeed at such a wonderful spousal relationship like the one my parents share comes from the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Through prayer we can ask God our Heavenly Father for help and receive things like inspiration, courage and a willing heart which enables us to better love and sacrifice for our spouses. Through prayer and because of Christ's Atonement, we can receive forgiveness from sin and help in turning towards good habits and behaviors.

This knowledge of the restored gospel and the example of my parents’ relationship helps me feel assured that with the help of Christ’s Atonement, my future spouse and I can succeed at marriage, and have incredible happiness with our family that can last through eternity.
To learn more about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and what it can do for all of our lives, visit lds.org.

Evan