Inspired words

A few years ago I was feeling weighed down by life, but mostly just trying to kick a feeling of depression. A friend took me to a women's conference where I heard a talk about "the fourth watch." In the Bible we read about Jesus's disciples out on the sea in a storm...

"And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea..."
The speaker talked about why the Lord delayed his coming, why he allowed them to "toil" until the fourth watch (which would have meant they had been rowing against the storm for many many hours) He proposed that perhaps it was because they were strengthened by the "toiling".
At the time it gave meaning to my struggles and gave me hope and strength to keep going.

I feel that I was also allowed to "toil" before getting married. There are two conversations that I remember toward the end of that fourth watch that helped me through. One with my aunt Sheila who asked me after listening to my discouragement about no prospects for marriage, "Would you change anything?" It stopped me and made me think.
"No," I replied. I then realized that being single for a while gave me time to do many things before I married. I was able to finish my college education, serve a mission, do an internship, learn a lot about myself, live with roommates, learn to live with strangers, budget, fix cars, cook, serve, travel, etc.
The other conversation was with my great grandmother. I was saying how I hated feeling and being treated like I was "broken" for not being married-- and then I stopped short. I realized the woman I was talking to herself had only been married a few years in comparison to the years of being single and widowed. She never had the joy of childbearing, but rather loved another's children as her own. I felt silly, but she just smiled and said "Oh, you know... once you are married, all that loneliness and heartache go away and it doesn't matter anymore."

The quote I have at the top of this blog was from a general conference address a few years ago. At the time I was very frustrated and discouraged and feeling at my wits end. I was married and had two very small children. I was feeling frazzled and inadequate. I had done all I could to make conference a good experience for my family. We set up a tent in our little basement kitchen with the door facing the computer.(I had read about someone doing that to make conference fun for children like King Benjamin's people) The house was a mess the tent was full of toys, papers and crayons. Money was tight, so I was coloring pictures for flannel board stories for Christmas gifts. My back hurt and my lower half was tingly from sitting on the hard tile. The kids were getting loud and rambunctious and I struggled to hear conference over the noise. Then, Elder Ballard began speaking words of encouragement to young mothers. I broke down and cried as I listened to these words:

"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. The choice is different and unique for each mother and each family. Many are able to be “full-time moms,” at least during the most formative years of their children’s lives, and many others would like to be. Some may have to work... and divide their lives into periods of home and family and work. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else. I am impressed by countless mothers who have learned how important it is to focus on the things that can only be done in a particular season of life. If a child lives with parents for 18 or 19 years, that span is only one-fourth of a parent’s life. And the most formative time of all, the early years in a child’s life, represents less than one-tenth of a parent’s normal life. It is crucial to focus on our children for the short time we have them with us and to seek, with the help of the Lord, to teach them all we can before they leave our homes."
http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=9694558fcc599110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

The words hit me like a sweet message from my Father in Heaven, "Keep going, don't give up. It will all be worth it--enjoy every moment."

This past weekend was General Conference. I really look forward to the uplift. This time we went to the lake and listened while the kids played, it was pretty ideal. The council President Uchtdorf gave about slowing down really hit me this time.

My dear brothers and sisters, we would do well to slow down a little, proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most. Let us be mindful of the foundational precepts our Heavenly Father has given to His children that will establish the basis of a rich and fruitful mortal life with promises of eternal happiness. They will teach us to do “all these things . . . in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that [we] should run faster than [we have] strength. [But] it is expedient that [we] should be diligent, [and] thereby . . . win the prize.”

Brothers and sisters, diligently doing the things that matter most will lead us to the Savior of the world. That is why “we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, . . . that [we] may know to what source [we] may look for a remission of [our] sins.” In the complexity, confusion, and rush of modern living, this is the “more excellent way.” http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1298-7,00.html

What inspired words have meant a lot to you?