The Meanings and Blessings of Family Work

To start this off, I would like to share one of my favorite quotes by David O. McKay. He says, "let us realize that: the privilege to work is a gift, the power to work is a blessing, the love of work is a success!" This is something that we can all be better at!

The chapter that I read during this week in Successful Marriages and Families was titled, "The Meanings and Blessings of Family Work." It states, "successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of work." ALL family members are vital to family work.

Why does running a household, even with modern conveniences, take such inordinate chunks of time and displace other activities we consider important? If cooperating as a family is the ideal, why is it often easier to work along than to involve children or a spouse? Modern culture also encourages a dislike for characteristics of family work that may offer great possibilities for fostering growth and nurturing relationships. The book states, "unlike play, which often involves significant mental activity, sharing an everyday task can dissolve feelings of hierarchy, inviting lighthearted or intimate conversation that bonds us together."

When I look back on my childhood, some of the best moments with my family is when we would clean up after Thanksgiving dinner. These chores brought us closer together because we would have nothing to do besides clean and talk! This led me to become closer to my grandmother. We would hand wash dishes (she has never had a dishwasher) and talk about school, life, and our future goals. For my husband, some of the best times with his father are when they were doing yard work together. He always felt close to his dad when they were not focused on electronics or had any distractions!

Lastly, one thing that I thought would be beneficial for families is that the books says, "parents do not need a perfect system for doing chores." It says, "family work is a lifelong opportunity, essential to the process of becoming like our heavenly parents. It was not meant to be consistently easy, convenient, or well-managed. We cannot describe any systems that guarantee meaningful experiences with family work. Individuals and families, with diligence and through inspiration, can discover better ways to solve their earthly challenges.