Today I wanted to go explore a part of Utah I have never seen. The kids are always up for a day out of the house, so we loaded up the swagger wagon with a picnic lunch and headed 45 miles north to a quaint little town called Brigham City. I had a fun day planned for the kids and me, and even convinced Grandma to make the trip with us.
Our first stop was a park where we ate lunch on the soft Utah grass and enjoyed the smells of the crisp mountain air and warmth of the sun on our necks. The kids perfected their Ninja Warrior obstacle skills on the playground while I fed Maegan and mapped out our walking trip. The new Brigham City LDS temple wasn't far and I thought it would be awesome to have my kids walk to the temple.
We hadn't been walking very far when Makenna decided she needed to rescue all the fire bugs in our path. And Marcus thought walking in the gutter that runs along Main Street would be more awesome than the sidewalk. Mason just took off running to prove he was still the leader of the pack. And poor old Grandma in her awesome blue pants suit and new birthday Nikes was bringing up the rear with her sore hips.
I started imagining how the pioneer moms did it. While I pushed our handcart (a.k.a. our state of the art Graco stroller) with "all" of our belongings nestled below the baby, my mind wandered and wondered. How did they keep track of their kids? Did they pick up fire bugs and walk along muddy trails, too? Did they have to remind their sons not to get their feet wet? And that they would take a water break around the next bend? What did they say when their kids asked for a snack and they had nothing to give them? Did their eyes burn from the glares of the sun and their feet freeze as they marched through the snow? Did they carry the fussy baby with one hand while pushing the handcart with the other? Their goal was Zion and the blessings of the temple. But it was so far off, what kept them going?
I only had to walk a mile today and I gave my kids water when they thirsted and carried them on my back when they got tired. I bet those pioneer moms did that once or twice, too. Their job was so difficult and their trials so burdensome. While my journey has been particularly hectic these past 4 months, I was reminded today that it has been filled with a lot of luxuries.
And oh so many blessings.
Makenna said this was the "most beautifulest temple [she] ever sawed
and wants to get married there someday."
I realized I forgot the baby so I had to take another one
When daughters of God focus on the temple and on their sacred covenants, God is able to send blessings in personal and powerful ways.
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