What God Gave You Time For

Yesterday I heard on the radio a statistic that said that in Utah there is a 1.3-billion-dollar economic loss annually because parents cannot find adequate childcare. In other words, parents who both want to work or go to school but cannot because they do not have a place to send their children “miss out” on the opportunity for significant wealth. As I think about that, I cannot help but ask myself the obvious question, “But who is measuring the great benefit of parents who forgo economic advancement for themselves and instead nurture and love and teach their young children at home?” That cannot be easily measured, but it is in my mind of greater worth in the long run to society than individual career advancement for parents. Of course, I understand that many parents need incomes from both of them in order to adequately provide for their families, but certainly as a society we should not undervalue or downplay or diminish the incredible value of parents—usually mothers—who give up economic opportunities for themselves and instead love and care for their children in their early years. Today is the 4^th birthday of my youngest child, and I am so grateful that my wife is able and willing to stay home to be with and care for and love her and our other children in the home while I work. I too was blessed by a mother who stayed home with me and my siblings, helping us build our lives on a stable foundation of family, faith, and love. I do not believe I could have gotten that from anyone or anywhere else.

                I have reflected often upon the talk by Elder Neil L. Andersen about children that he gave a dozen years ago. In particular, I have thought a lot about this quote from a Christian mother that he shared, “[Growing] up in this culture, it is very hard to get a biblical perspective on motherhood. … Children rank way below college. Below world travel for sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. Below honing your body at the gym. Below any job you may have or hope to get…. Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for.” I love her perspective—for those of us who have been blessed to have children, they are indeed what God gave us time for, and they should never become second-class items on our list of priorities. The Savior clearly taught when He was on the earth that children mattered a great deal to Him. He taught His disciples about the value of loving children in this story: “And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me” (Mark 9:36-37). To truly receive Him we must receive children. He similarly said on another occasion, “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 18:10). Children are so important to God that they have angels watching over them. Soon thereafter when there “were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray,” some of the disciples tried to push them away and “rebuked them.” But the Savior said, “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them” (Matthew 19:14-15). He never pushed away a child but always loved and blessed them and encouraged adults to become like them. Among the Nephites, the Resurrected Savior “commanded that their little children should be brought. So they brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round about him, and Jesus stood in the midst…. and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them” (3 Nephi 17:11-12, 21). Being with and blessing the Nephite children was such a powerful experience for Him that He wept. I hope that we can always remember the infinite worth of children and the unparalleled value of time spent with them. In the eyes of God they will always be of far greater worth than any earthly gain.