We Are the Clay

To my son, 

                Today I want to write about dealing with situations that don’t seem fair. That’s a word that we hear a lot in our house—each of the kids in our family naturally wants to have what each of the other kids have, and it is hard sometimes to see someone else get something (like a gift or a treat) that you don’t get. When one receives something that another doesn’t receive, the rallying cry is often, “That’s not fair!” You often hear one of your parents reply, “Well, life is not fair.” We aren’t trying to be mean; rather, we want you to be able to successfully deal with situations like this because you will face them all the time in life. There will always be others who seem to get more than you or who appear to have blessings you don’t have. And if you focus on what they have instead of the great blessings you have already been given, then you will often be frustrated and upset. The solution is not to get everything everyone else has; instead it is to remember how great blessings the Lord has already given you. The next time you are tempted to say, “That’s not fair!” I want you to say instead these four words whose first letters spell FAIR: Forget And Instead Remember. When you want to complain about something not being fair, forget that thing and instead focus on remembering what great blessings God has already given you. Moroni told us the attitude we should have: “Remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts” (Moroni 10:3). When we remember how merciful God hath been we stop focusing on what we don’t have and instead feel gratitude for what we do have and how good the Lord has been to us. And that makes us far happier than simply receiving more stuff. And since we are on the letter F, here are four ideas of F words you can always be grateful for: Faith, Family, Friends, and Food. We are so blessed to have all four of those!

                As you grow older, you will encounter situations that don’t seem fair which are far more serious and important than those you encounter today like not getting the same treat as your brother or not having as much screen time as your sister. As you are tempted to murmur that life is not being fair to you at these times, I want you to remember this scripture from the prophet Isaiah to help put things in perspective: “But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand” (Isaiah 64:8). If we remember that the Lord is in control, that He is symbolically the Potter and we are the Clay in His hands that He is molding, then we can be assured that even those things that don’t seem fair in our lives are for our good. If we trust in Him, it will all work out in the end and all our experiences will ultimately bless us. As He molds us and shapes us and works to help us become His masterpiece, we will undoubtedly have to pass through difficulties and times when life seems unjust. But know that the Savior has experienced all of these before we did, and as we keep our faith in Him, it will all come out right in the end.

Love,

Dad