Worth It

Sunday was challenging, to say the least. I was feeling really sick all day--first trimester pregnancy I-want-to-curl-up-in-a-ball-and-hibernate-somewhere sick. I managed to get the kids fed, dressed and to church (OK, at least one of them didn't have shoes on, but we were there before the opening song ended). My husband had a meeting in the morning, so he was there already. I spent Sacrament Meeting in the hallway with restless kids, spent the second hour teaching music to the primary children, and spent the third hour huddled in the car feeling miserable. Esther fell asleep in the car on the way home; I carried her inside and collapsed on the bed next to her for a badly needed nap. The rest of the day was filled with the usual mayhem--my four year old brought a big bowl of sand into the house, and the toddler proceeded to dump it by spadefuls all over the living room floor. Lily managed to shatter not one but two glasses on the kitchen floor. I fed my family frozen pizza for lunch and boxed macaroni and cheese for dinner. I sometimes think when the Lord called the Sabbath a day of rest he forgot to take mothers into consideration! (I do need to say that my husband was incredibly kind, patient and supportive throughout the day. And in the evening he took us all out for a nice family walk, then put the kids to bed while I took a nice long shower. Thank You!)

In any case, complaining is not the point of this post. The point is that the things in life that are worthwhile, the things that bring true joy and have an eternal impact, also take a huge amount of effort. Things like building (and rebuilding, and shoring up, and deepening...) a solid relationship with our spouse. Things like bringing children into the world--then caring for them and helping them develop the skills, attitudes and faith that will enable them to successfully forge their way in the world. Things like repenting when we have erred, and forgiving when we have been hurt. Things like turning away from pride and being humble enough to learn the lessons the Lord wants to teach us. It's hard. It takes work.

When I think of work, this comes to mind:

The Salt Lake Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints took 40 years to build. It was a work of great love and dedication, the fruit of faith and hope. Here is one story among many of the sacrifice and devotion that went into building this sacred edifice.

John Rowe Moyle was called to serve as a stonemason for the Salt Lake Temple construction. He and his family lived and farmed in Alpine, Utah, some 22 miles from the temple, and the only transportation available to him was his own two feet--the family owned a horse, but it was needed for work on the farm. Brother Moyle made this trip every week, arising at 2:00 AM Monday morning in order to arrive at 8:00 for the day's work. On Friday afternoon he would retrace his steps, spending the weekend at home with his family and tending his farm. One weekend he was kicked in the leg by a cow he was milking, causing a serious compound fracture that resulted in the amputation of his leg. As soon as he was able, he set to work carving out of wood an artificial leg. He practiced walking on this leg until he felt he was ready to return to the temple work. Early one Monday morning he set out, walking now on his wooden leg, and once again took his place among the stoneworkers. He continued his work on the temple for many years. One of his contributions was the carving of the words "Holiness to the Lord" on the East side:


I think Brother Moyle has set an example worthy of emulation by each of us who seek to live a life of "Holiness to the Lord". The lesson? Keep working. What we are building is worth every effort we can make.