Gale Center Museum ... and JOY in achievement/work

Last Thursday we went to a free museum in South Jordan. It was really neat. We had a short tour about life long ago in South Jordan. After the tour we went and played in the mini kitchen and farmyard. The kids went shopping at the market. They went to school in Pioneer Days. The worked at the Post Office. They learned about the Indians and sat in a tee-pee and hit the drum. They learned about mining in Utah.

The kids really had a fun time dressing up and playing. I liked that they caught a glimpse of simple living... life without soft carpet floors, running water, indoor plumbing, washing machines, and loads of fun electronics.  I came home realizing my daily tasks are not as challenging as they could be - as they've been for women throughout the ages of time.

History teaches that life is not all about vacations, play, and fun. That is why I love learning from the past. It teaches me ... perspective stuff.

I've been thinking a lot about work.
~ Partly because I get so tired of work, work, work.
~ Partly because I know that the essence of life is WORK and that we can find joy and fulfillment in a job well done.
~ Partly because I want to train my kids to work hard.  It's good for them.
~ Partly because I always want to play and have fun with the kids, but I know the work is waiting for me (and them).
So - the principle of work has been swimming in my mind.  I'm torn about it all.  I think I just need to focus on the joy in achievement and teach my children to do the same.

One of my friends mentioned a while ago that a mission president said that one of the best ways to prepare your kids for a mission is to teach them to work hard without any immediate reward.  Life does not always provide immediate rewards for our efforts.  Sometimes we have to wait to see the benefit of our hard work.  The Lord teaches us lessons in patience daily.

The stories of those who came before teach me that there is joy in duty and work.

“Teach your young children to work, and teach them that honest labor develops dignity and self-respect. Help them to find pleasure in work and to feel the satisfaction that comes from a job well done.”(Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Spiritually Strong Homes and Families,” Ensign, May 1993).

"The Lord knew that from the crucible of work emerges the hard core of character.

"Work is the means to achieve happiness, prosperity, and salvation. When work and duty and joy are comingled, then man is at his best. Tagore wrote,

I slept and dreamt

That life was joy

I woke and saw

That life was duty

I acted, And behold!

Duty was joy!

J. Richard Clarke, “The Value of Work,” Ensign, May 1982, 77