January 12-18

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Creation: What I Learned Watching My Husband Build a House

This week, we read about the Creation story. I don’t have a specific verse to share, but I have an overarching idea that I want you to contemplate while reading the Creation story. There are many principles that we can talk about; we could talk about the power of God or His creative abilities. However, there is one principle I want to focus on because I feel like I’m watching a mini-version of it right before my eyes. These scriptures are rather poignant for me right now.

My husband, Conner, is currently working alongside others to build a house for our family. He has worked so hard on it; he has been actively involved in every step of the process including the construction itself, and he has the chemical burns from the wet concrete to prove it. 

It has been an exhausting process for him; there have been extra challenges to face that I won’t go into detail over, but I wish I could describe the depth for which he fought for us to have this. There have been many times that I have watched his tenacity with fascination and curiosity because it’s so different from my eager willingness to walk away and give up. I legitimately don’t understand how he can be so obstinate and relentless to have made this come together for our family. There have been endless nights of research, gray hairs, even legitimate nightmares over the challenges that we (but mostly, he) faced in trying to make it all come together. 

There were a lot of times when I felt like, “Enough is enough. Let’s cut our losses. We’re happy enough where we are.” But not Conner. He wouldn’t let it go.

Conner had more than one motivating factor that kept him going when I’m convinced that 99% of people would have given up. When he was a young boy, his family moved to Sharon, Vermont. It’s a tiny town where Joseph Smith Sr. met Lucy Mack. We went back to visit this town a couple of years ago, and they were still using the same General Store that had been used in Joseph Smith’s time. You could see through the floorboards. Conner’s family lived on an obscure piece of land, and it was heaven for Conner. He spent all day every day outside, playing in the stream and running through the woods even when the snow was as tall as him. He loved it. He was so proud to take me back and show me.

Conner is building us a house on a bit of land where our kids can experience the happiness that he experienced. I’m convinced that’s his motivating factor. That was what caused him to continue on despite obstacles that would have chased away anyone else. 

I have watched my husband labor (and honest, labor seems like a euphemism for what he’s done) on behalf of my family. I have watched him go through the wringer because he wants his kids to have what he had. 

And yes, one of the parallels of THE Creation story and our mini-creation story is the fact that there was sacrifice involved. However, I want to draw your attention to another detail.

You are so loved. Christ worked so hard to make this come together for us, and He gave an unfathomable sacrifice all because He. Loved. You. 

I look forward to the day that my kids can walk into what my husband built. I look forward to sitting on our porch and watching them play, get dirty, wash off, and do chores alongside us in order to grow. 

I hope that one day, I can convey the price their father paid for them to have what they have. I don’t want them to become depressed over the price or feel like they can’t go out and learn for fear of ruining everything. I don’t want them to sit and mope and lament that they didn’t deserve all the work their father put into it. 

Of course they don’t deserve it! Of course they didn’t earn it! It wasn’t meant to be earned. It was a gift. I hope they are filled with tremendous gratitude that only sweetens the gift that we want them to enjoy. I hope they take advantage of the gift. I hope they run their little hearts out, following our rules for safety. I hope the gift helps them grow so that they can be as good as their father.

I currently try to teach my children about the gifts that their Savior gave them. I don’t want them to become depressed over the price that He willingly paid. I don’t want them to be terrified of going out to learn for fear of making mistakes. I don’t want them to sit and mope and lament that they didn’t deserve it.

Of course we don’t deserve it. Of course we didn’t earn it. It wasn’t meant to be earned. It was a gift. I hope we are filled with tremendous gratitude that sweetens the gift that our Savior wants us to enjoy. I hope we take advantage of the gift. I hope we wear ourselves out utilizing His gift, following His rules for safety and also trying to grow to become as good as Him. 

I hope my kids look at their father one day and realize what it cost him to build this. I KNOW that my husband will look back at them and feel like he got a gift back just because he had the pleasure of watching them grow and receiving their love in return. 

I hope that we look at Christ and realize what it cost Him to build this. I KNOW that Christ will look back at us and feel like He got a gift back just because He had the pleasure of watching us grow and receiving our love in return.

I testify that our Savior gave us many gifts. I testify that He sacrificed and built us a home. I testify that it cost Him more than we can understand. I also testify that He did it because He wanted to. He really just wanted the pleasure of watching us find what He has. He wanted the pleasure of us loving Him for it. He just wants us all to be happy together.