Thursday, September 27, 2012

Serving Your Spouse and Family by Jessica Clark

The Importance of Serving Your Spouse and Family



I have always been a big family person, maybe it's because I'm the youngest of nine children that when I got married to my husband I was excited to start our new family. After just a few months of our marriage we found out we were expecting and we couldn't have been more excited. Our first year of our marriage Dustin, my husband, was the center of my life and I had a lot more time to do activities with him and serve him, that it was so easy to be so in love with him. Than when our little boy came along, my time with Dustin seemed to disappear and I seemed a little more on edge and I noticed our relationship had change, not in a bad way, but it did change. Everything seemed harder, I got frustrated easier, and noticed that if something went wrong I was quick to blame my husband.

One late night while I was rocking our little boy, I was thinking how much I loved this little boy and that I had a better understanding of our Heavenly Father's love for us. I also thought how crazy it was that this little boy just barely entered my life and I loved him so much. Than I asked myself why is that? I mean that little boy is a lot of work, I had lost a lot of hours of sleep, my body was never going to be the same, and I was constantly taking care of him. 

Then I realized what it was, it was because I was consistently serving him, that I put his needs over mine. I don't know where I heard this, but somewhere I heard that if you want to love someone you need to serve them. That's when I noticed that I hadn't served my husband for a while. 

When I take some time to serve my husband I can tell a difference in our marriage. Also when I serve him, he tends to do the same so it's a win win situation! 

I will admit I'm not always good about serving my husband because I sometimes say to myself that I'm too tired after a day running around with my little boy, but when I do something little extra it can make a huge difference.

It is very important to serve our children but I think sometimes as a parent we forget about our spouse when they should be just as or even more important. Our spouse is our partner in life, and we believe that we can't get to the highest degree in the Celestial Kingdom without our spouse, so we need to serve that person more than ever.

A perfect example of service and unconditional love is our Savior.  Because of him my sins can be forgiven and I can return to my Heavenly Father one day. He made the greatest sacrifice that no man has done, so I can't imagine the love he has for all of us.

I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to be a parent and wife.  It's has taught be to be selfless and the importance of service. It has made me a better person and gives me a better understanding of Heavenly Father's love for me. I know that if we serve our family and others, we will be happier and be full of love.



Jessica Clark was born and raised most of her life in Rexburg, Idaho. She met her husband, Dustin while they both were getting their Illustration degrees at Brigham Young University- Idaho. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on December 22, 2009.  A year later, in November 2010, their son Thomas joined their family.  They are now expecting baby #2 this coming January.  Jessica spends time being a homemaker and a mother while doing illustration and photography on the side.  She is the illustrator of “God Gave You a Body”.



The giveaway this week is a gift certificate from Family Tree and Me redeemable for any of their Photo Family Proclamations, including the shipping cost. Readers of the Family Proclamation Celebration can receive a 25% discount off the price of the print if you use this code:  Family Proclamation Celebration.25 The discount is good until September 30th. All those comment on posts will be eligible for the giveaway. Family Tree and Me delights in creating customized keepsake family photo art and would love the opportunity to make a meaningful art piece for you to display in your home. You provide the pictures and we create the art! We have four categories of art with a variety of options available within each one: Photo Family Trees, Photo Family Proclamations, Missionary Photo Art, and Photo Family Mission Statements.





Be sure to check out today's other insightful posts about the Family Proclamation on the following blogs:

diapersanddivinity
Middle-agedMormonMan
     

9 comments:

  1. always good advice. glad you learned it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I too get caught up in the day to day that I forget to extra special things for my husband. But it is important! And your illustrations for the Protect your body book are beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fitting at this time. I was just thinking about how I need to serve my husband more.

    ReplyDelete
  4. A very good and timely post! I definitely can tell when I am focused more on myself rather than on my husband - I just get crankier and less content with the many blessings the Lord has given me in my husband. Thank you for the reminder!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have just been thinking of ways to serve my husband. He is my best friend and he is always so good about doing service fore me. Great post. I think more people need to remember this...

    ReplyDelete
  6. So true that service is key. Great post. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  7. A perfect reminder that if we want to grow love, we need to serve. And I agree that serving our spouses is equal to or even more important than serving our children because our spouse is our partner in life and the eternities.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jessica, Thanks so much for the reminder. Wow. I needed that lesson. It's because of my husband that I can be here, serving my kids. Without him and all of his uncomplaining efforts, I wouldn't have the opportunity to serve my family and others as much as I do. I'm sending hugs your way!

    ReplyDelete