Striving For Family Unity

This is a post that I hope I will always keep close to my heart and mind. I may even blow it up and place it in a spot that I will make sure and see several times a day. Often I have been thinking about the importance of family. To be honest, I am scared half to death as David and I try to raise our own little family. One Sunday shortly after Stratton was born I sat holding him in Relief Society. I will never forget a sister and friend in the class raised her hand with a comment. The teacher proceeded to call on her and the short of what she had to say that impressed me so much was, " Never once did I ever hear my Mom and Dad say anything negative about anyone ...not in our own family or about any one in our family ward. " The lesson was on Unity and at that moment it was so clear to me the importance of unity in families. It all came together as I pondered this thought over the next several months. The most important factor in establishing unity of the entire family begins with the parents. Parents need to show there love and respect for one another each day. I know that this will greatly reflect on their child's behavior and ultimately plant the seed for unity in the family. I was amazed the other night to see Stratton just a little guy only 18 months old copy a small yet obviously important thing his daddy does each day. Stratton and I often play this game where we both pretend that he has alot of work to do and a busy day so he must leave. He comes up to me and says ," bye bye " I then repeat those two little words with a wave and proceed to tell him to have a good day at work and I love you. Last night I sat at the dinnner table when Stratton decided it was time for him to go to work . He came up to me and said , " bye bye " and then to my amazement he didn't run out the door just yet ... he climbed up on my lap and gave me a big kiss , climbed down and ran out the door. I started to cry as I later thanked David for making the effort to kiss me each time before he walked out that door to school or work. Stratton had been watching his daddy and he noticed the small yet very important things that makes us smile and brings unity to our family. I was reading a great talk by Elder Donald L. Staheli about the importance of establishing family unity . The entire talk is very inspirational yet tonight I think the quote that touched my heart the most is, "Frequent expressions of love are a key to building trusting and loving relationships, but equally important is the consistent demonstration of that love. How we act often speaks louder than what we say and how we say it. It is important that we consistently and genuinely show our children our love for each other and for them as well as tell them of that love."