Following the Rules

I have been thinking about this blog for a few weeks now, writing and rewriting it over and over. As you read this please keep in mind I am not pointing fingers at anyone. Having someone read this blog and judge someone is not what I have in mind.

My parents were not cool parents, I don’t mean to disrespect my parents but they were not the “cool parents” that people I knew had. I am like my parents in that area, I am the mom who expects homework to be done, chores to be done, and rules to be followed. This comes with the territory. That does not mean I do not love my kids, but I want them to do what is best for them. I am their parent first and friend second. I do not think there is anything wrong with this. My relationship has changed with them throughout the years as most parent child relationships do. I can say that my parents are more my friends now than when I was young but I still have to do what they say.

As parent we have to put our own desires and wants on the backburner. We also have to be very careful not to set a double standard. What do I mean by this, we all know the phrase, “Do as I do not as I say.” I would also like to another favorite, “Actions speak louder than words.” I love Diet Pepsi, if there was ever a better drink I don’t know what it could be. I know that soda is not good for people and I would tell my children while sucking down my soda, “It is not healthy to drink soda. It is not good for you.” They would look at me like I was nuts, if mom drinks it, it cannot be bad. They also were thinking you are the biggest hypocrite on the planet. You are telling us not to drink it but here you are drinking it like there is no tomorrow. Now because I am six weeks without soda I can say look how much better you feel when you don’t have that in your system. (That is a very hypocritical statement because boy do I really want one today.)

This week as we were in Utah I saw a bumper sticker that was very popular in the 80’s. It said, “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you may be in Utah.” As I thought of this I thought of myself. I am a rule follower. If you are reading this you know this is true, if it is a rule I try very hard not to break it. My parents and siblings will hopefully agree. I have broken rules before but the times that big rules were broken big consequences followed. The problem with breaking rules is that most of the time we do not even know what the consequences of our actions will be or how it will affect other people. Breaking the rules might bring instant gratification but it does not always make you feel better in the end.

The end is what I want to write about. Sometimes we have to look towards the future to find out what really matters. As rule followers we should not feel like we are being punished. The blessing we get from doing what is right will be those that last forever. Forever is a long time away and that is one of the reasons it is hard to follow rules. I am glad that I follow most rules, yes there are some rules that I break, but I hope my children will understand that living for just tomorrow will not bring joy that last.

Now this does not mean if you break rules you are doomed. You are not! See we have Jesus Christ to make us whole again. He is the only one that can do this for us. I know this is true. You see I have had to use that power. It is a gift that our Father in Heaven has given us. He sent His only begotten Son to Earth to atone for our sins. The problem is there are many of us who do not use this gift. We think once we break a rule we can never change the consequence. We can’t change the natural consequence but we can change how we feel. As I end this blog I want all of my readers to know that I am a Christian, I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. I know that all of my friends rather Mormon or not know that I have a testimony of Jesus Christ. He is my Savior and Redeemer.