The Most Important Thing I Do

 A while back, I was sitting in on a class held for United States Military Academy cadets by the Church Educational System's Institute of Religion.  I don't remember what the lesson was that evening, but at some point I was thinking about my family's nightly Family Time tradition.  I wrote a post about this back in October 2013, and we still do largely the same thing almost every night.  Essentially, we sing together, we study scripture together, and we pray together.  Recently, we've also often been reviewing personal goals, and of course, we have an extended Home Evening with a lesson, which we now have on Sundays, following a suggestion from Elder Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the October 2018 general conference.  It may seem a simple thing for me, my wife, and my children to take a few minutes for reverence and devotion to God, but as I sat in the Institute class, somehow the thought came to me that Family Time is the most important thing I do.

I hadn't really considered it like that before.  Of course, I know it has been important to me, or I wouldn't have kept up such a tradition for so long.  But when I think about the real, lasting impact of everything I do in life, I don't think anything else will be more important than this simple tradition.  Through it, we're able to learn together and grow spiritually; we're able to provide our children with the knowledge they need to navigate through the trials and confusion of life.  Through it, we find greater unity as a family.  Through it, we remind ourselves daily of how to live as disciples of Christ.

I do other good things in life, whether in Church service, at work, other activities with my family, or just by taking advantage of opportunities when they arise at random, but I don't think the real, lasting impact approaches what I achieve through daily singing, scripture study, and prayer with my family.

It was fascinating to consider.  In the days that have followed, I haven't changed my mind.

Last thoughts for now:
Someday my family will start shrinking as my adult children move out and begin their own lives.  Eventually, we presumably won't have any children remaining at home.  Family Time will be a bit different then as we don't have any children to teach.  In one sense, I think I will have a feeling of, "Mission Accomplished" when that day comes.  I expect that my wife and I will carry on the tradition, but simply focus more on what interests the two of us.  I hope that our children will have similar traditions with their future spouses and children, and I expect that my wife and I will want to join our children's family traditions when possible.  For now, I happily carry on the event each night.  I love it.  And I truly believe that it's the most important thing I do.