To Honor

Lately I’ve been thinking about the role of a mother and father in the home.  When God commanded us to honor our father and mother, what did that really mean?  I wasn’t sure what it meant to honor, so as I looked in the dictionary it talked about having reverence or respect for someone, even giving them some authority in your life.  Almost instantly the thought came to my mind that there were definitely things I respected in my father and mother.  I respected and honored the faith of my father.  He would do whatever God told him to do and it didn’t matter how hard it was going to be.  He just said okay if that’s what you want me to do, I’ll do it.  I respected my mother for always standing by my Dad’s side and believing in him, whatever the goal or dream was he was pursuing.  She had a lot of faith that God was directing them together as a couple.  I truly honored them for those attributes. 

I then thought of Jesus Christ and what it means to honor him.  I respect and reverence Him for the attributes He possess.  He was selfless, willing, compassionate, merciful, submissive, aware of others, loving and the list goes on.  I place Him as an authority in my life because of the life He led.  He is someone that is worth honoring and giving reverence towards because of who He was.  

As I have pondered upon these thoughts of honoring and reverencing my father and mother and the Savior I realized something very important.  There were other things I didn’t respect about my parents, which doesn’t mean they were bad.  I just needed something different in my life.  I may have needed to see love in a different way or to have felt compassion in a more personal manner.  I know though that my parents were trying their best and doing what God told them to do.  It didn’t mean they were going to be perfect. It just meant they were truly trying and I have an opportunity to learn from them. 

As a mother with small children I get the opportunity every day to work on those attributes that help my children find in me the things they can respect.  Just like I found those in my parents and Jesus Christ.  I realized what I honored about my parents was the positive attributes they were demonstrating in their daily actions and attributes they were trying to develop.  Being a parent isn’t easy, but it is possible to teach our children to honor their father and mother.  We look at the attributes that we honor and respect then try to emulate them in our own lives. 

This week as I’ve been pondering on this thought, I’ve written down attributes that I admire and took a minute to look inward to see where I can improve.  I’ve asked myself how I can acquire that attribute and give my children something to honor in me.  I have had distinct impression on what I can do better to not only help me, but my children as well.  Learning to honor our father and mother will go a long ways in helping our society develop attributes that help and contribute instead of taking away and diminishing the amazing blessings we are given. 

So, today or in the next few days.  Take a few minutes and ask yourself some personal questions.  See how you can improve and be grateful for the areas where you are doing a good job.  Each of you are worth the time it takes to improve and change whether you are a parent now, your children are already gone or you aren’t yet married.  Strive to be the best you and develop those attributes within you that are worth being honored for. You are amazing and worth it!