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”.

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