Sunshine on Sunday | Things That Matter Most

If you’re just joining us for our monthly series “Sunshine on Sunday” this is our 2nd installment and we hope you’ll take a few minutes and read our message.  As I mentioned in our 1st Sunshine on Sunday post, I will be posting something on the first Sunday of each month hoping to share a bit of “sunshine”  – or in other words, something uplifting with you. In doing so, I hope that as you my readers will get to know me a bit better and know what I stand for as a human being, who just happens to be Mormon. You don’t have to read it, but if you’ve read this far, I hope you’ll keep reading & take something away from what I share. I don’t want these posts to come across as anything preachy, I just want to try share something good and uplifting, since there tends to be so much negativity and not so happy stuff out there. So Welcome to “Sunshine on Sunday.”

Not long after writing my first Sunshine post, I was watching a movie called “The Lost & Found Family.”  (Great uplifting movie by the way) and one of the women in the show asked another woman about how she wanted to spend her life.  The women laughed a little and gave a reply I thought was really profound  – and what I wanted to touch on today.  Her reply was this: “We say ‘Spend Your Life’ as if it was currency to dole out … When you’re done with all that spending – you’ll have spent your life on nothing – or on something worthwhile.”  My husband commented that we “Don’t get a receipt to take it back” if we have regrets or don’t like something we’ve done, so we need to spend it wisely!

So the question I pose today is this:

What do you “spend” your life doing?

What do you do with the 24 hours in each day that you are given?  Maybe it’s because my girl’s are getting older & the moments seem so fleeting, but I’ve been reflecting on this a lot recently.  What am I spending my time on, and is it worthwhile?  I guess it really boils down to the choices we make each day.  Most of the things we choose to spend our time on are probably not bad, but are there better things we could be doing with our time?   I also believe I’ve been thinking about this because of how technology is such a part of our society now and how good & bad it can be.  It can be a major time sucker, but it also has so many wonderful benefits too (like learning how to do your daughter’s hair. wink wink! ;-)) Instead of texting someone, could you pick up the phone and call them or even go visit them face to face?  Instead of playing an online game, could we go play a board game with our family?  Instead of spending hours on Pinterest, could we go do one of the crafts or make one of the recipes we pinned, with our children?  Instead of having the TV on, could we read a good book?  So I ask again, how do you “spend” your time each day?  It’s not so much the major events …as the small day-to-day decisions…that map the course of our living.

I recently came across this video and I think it makes such a great point:

I believe it says “Disconnect to Connect” in Thai at the end.  But either way – you get the point.  We shouldn’t get so caught up in technology that we forget the people right next to you.  A wise man named Dallin H. Oaks said,  “We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families.”

Maybe you’ve heard of the saying, “Don’t get caught up in the thick of thin things.”  I think that’s so true.  Often times we are so busy doing “things” that aren’t overly important that we overlook the things that truly are.

In a wonderful message given by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor of the First Presidency, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, entitled “Of Things That Matter Most” (you can read the whole message HERE)  he identifies 4 basic things that should take priority in our lives: our God, our families, our fellowman, and then ourselves.

I love this short video that really drives home the point that “Love really is spelled T-I-M-E.”

I love what is said in the video, “We would do well to slow down a little … focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most. Strength comes not from frantic activity but from being settled on a firm foundation of truth and light. It comes from paying attention to the divine things that matter most.”

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I hope that reading this and watching these videos will give you some food for thought.   I would challenge you to try “spend” more time with those who matter most – those you love and care about – so that when you look back on your life you’ll have no regrets on how you “spent” the time you were given.

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