Sticky kisses on my cheeks.

Marjorie Hinckley is a hero of mine. So many of her words correlate directly with my personal priorities and mottoes.

When I picture who I want to be, a sweet old lady is the perfect hero. My discouragement over any human frailties melts away as I picture a long life with time to become.

Enjoy here some of her choicest advice...

“Think about your particular assignment at this time in your life. It may be to get an education, it may be to rear children, it may be to be a grandparent, it may be to care for an relieve the suffering of someone you love, it may be to do a job in the most excellent way possible, it may be to support someone who has a difficult assignment of their own. Our assignments are varied and they change from time to time. Don't take them lightly. Give them your full heart and energy. Do them with enthusiasm. Do whatever you have to do this week with your whole heart and soul. To do less than this will leave you with an empty feeling.”  

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow what a ride!”
  “Oftentimes the thing that makes the difference between a good student and a poor one, a good learner or a bored human being, is just a little curiosity. If you have it, cultivate it, feed it. Never let it go. If you do not have it - get it. Wonder, watch, ask questions, be alive. It's just that simple”

“As you create a home, don't get distracted with a lot of things that have no meaning for you or your family. Don't dwell on your failures, but think of your successes. Have joy in your home. Have joy in your children. Have joy in your husband. Be grateful for the journey.”
“For it is not requisite that a woman should hobble faster than she has strength!”
“Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”
“I know it is hard for you young mothers to believe that almost before you can turn around the children will be gone and you will be alone with your husband. You had better be sure you are developing the kind of love and friendship that will be delightful and enduring. Let the children learn from your attitude that he is important. Encourage him. Be kind. It is a rough world, and he, like everyone else, is fighting to survive. Be cheerful. Don't be a whiner.”  
Lastly but not leastly, my favorite of all her wise words...

“I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived.”

Comments

joolee said…
that sweet little girl is getting SO big!!! your boys always look like they have a blast. my son would be in HEA-VEN with them...
Anonymous said…
thank you so much, I needed these words tonight. I love Marjorie Hinckley too, when I "grow up" I want to be just like her. I love your blog, and whenever I seem to forget where I was headed in the first place, when my peace is lost in the chaos of disappointments and sadness, it calms me down to read your words. It puts me back on track. It reminds me of who I am and where I want to be. thank you so much.
Laura said…
I too needed this. In the stress of packing and moving, I forget that the kids are a little stressed out too, and need my attention and love more than ever. I found myself today having a hard time using my nice voice, as well as resenting my lot in life (why oh why do we have to move yet again?), but your post --her words, helped me see it in a different light. What an adventure we are living! How much have we learned and experienced, how much closer we are as a family as we move from place to place, and what a wonderful reminder, --as we pack up all our stuff to be left behind in storage -- of what is truly important!
All we really need is each other.
Thanks for helping me put things in perspective. As usual.
(Oh, and thanks for the picture of the messy play room, I'm glad to know my house isn't the only one that gets like that. :) --keeps me from feeling too inadequate).
Anonymous said…
I really liked how gentle she was. Tough,true, and kind. Thank you for this post. It makes me happy to see that you are taking all of life in, and reminding me to do the same.
Bridget said…
Thank you for that picture of the bundt cake. It changed me.

As young men and young women in our church we learn that making choices ahead of time will make it easier to choose the right. (ie: If I decide now that I'm never going to smoke, then when someone asks me to, I've already made the decision and it's not hard to say no.)

Well, if I ever spend hours planning and preparing a beautiful chocolate bundt cake, then find it decimated by the the darlings dearest to my heart, I've made my decision. I'll take a picture, glaze it, and serve it for desert as if nothing happened.

How many chocolate cakes can I find in my life?

I think you've helped to save me, Megan.
Thank you.