"Non-Member Parents"
I come from a family that was not very religious growing up. My father was raised Catholic and my mother Presbyterian. And over time, my mom has slithered into the traditions of the Catholic faith. So telling my parents that I wanted to be "Mormon" was one of the most terrifying, heart breaking decision. As most people who do not believe in our church, the one thing that makes them more than angry is the fact that they cannot see their child get married. And my parents are part of that group. They have a very difficult time accepting the traditions of my church. And for a while, they hated me for it. I never understood how parents could turn their backs on their own child purely based on faith, but it happened.If you're apart of the LDS church you know how important family is to us. Going around the room in an women's event they asked us to name things we are thankful for and a majority always mentioned family. In my head I kept thinking, "I'm not grateful for mine. They don't make me feel loved at all. I don't have a family that is loving like everyone else's." And as the holidays got closer, the same sort of phrase came up: "I'm so grateful for my family. Families are truly from Heavenly Father," and my favorite, "Heavenly Father placed you in your family because He loves you." WHAT?!? ME AND MY FAMILY?! ARE YOU FOR REAL?! How can I be placed in this family because God loves me? That doesn't make sense? My family doesn't love me. My family treats me like I'm kind of alien living in their house.
But I was wrong. Heavenly fathered placed us in our families for a specific purpose. Mine is to be a bridge between my parents and the LDS church. Mine is to show my parents that the church wants so many blessings for each and everyone of us, not just people that belong to the church. Mine is to be strong, to be the instrument for my family and others. Because of the things my family has gone through, I am able to see that I have a testimony. I have a testimony that families really do mean so much. And by enduring, so many blessings will come of that.
Think about how you talk to our Father in Heaven. Do you yell at Him? Do you call Him mean names? Do you say hurtful things behind His back? Because I know that I have done all of those things to my parents. But, I would never do that with God. And why not? Because Heavenly Father wants what is best for us. The difference though? Our parents aren't God. We can't expect them to be perfect or to react the way we want them to. We only have to have hope that one day, they will understand. They will be apart of our lives, fully, including the church. We have to accept that our parents love us and that they aren't perfect-reacting the only way they see fit to protect their hearts as well.
I also know that because of the Lord, my parents do in fact love me. It's been so hard on all of us. We have all said things and done things that have hurt the other, but in the end, Christ prevails. My parents just want the best for me. And joining the church, they didn't think that was the "best." It's not that they don't love me, it is the fact of being hurt. People deal with being hurt in many different ways. Most of the time, ignoring the person and the problem is just easier than having to grasp that you can't see a marriage or hear "weird" things that you don't agree with. It's easier to just ignore. But, they aren't ignoring you, they are ignoring the church.
I have a testimony that Christ performs miracles. That through The Lord all hearts are able to soften if you stick to what you know is true. I have a testimony that we are all placed in our families for a specific purpose and sometimes we don't know that reason right away. I have a testimony of prayer-that by talking to God we are letting Him know we care and want Him to take over for us.