What is a sacred space to you? Is it a church, a temple, or a shrine? Although some religions encourage a home shrine, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encourages us to make our entire home into a place where God is welcome. This blesses the family as we focus on filling our home with God’s love. Our homes should invite the Holy Ghost to dwell with us.
We have images of the Savior in nearly every room of our home, although that is a personal choice. There is no designated quiet corner for prayer and reflection. We try, instead, to make the home itself a place that encourages us to think about God and what we can do to be more like Him.
I’ve been asked if, in a quest to create sacred space, I should set aside a corner of my home for prayer and reflection. I know many religions do set aside space for a shrine to remember deceased family members and deities. My friend recently set up a beautiful Day of the Dead table for her parents, who had passed away.
I know the church doesn’t discourage that when you are drawn to the idea. But I love seeing pictures of Jesus Christ when I first walk into my home. I am often too busy and easily distracted. And reminders of Him help me make time for the scriptures, to pray, and have greater patience with my family.
Favorite Scriptures that guide family life
I have some favorite scriptures I would like to share with you. These remind me of what matters most and help me be kinder to my family when I feel frustrated.
Bless your household
I love 2 Samuel 6:20, where it says, “David returned home to bless his household”. Now I realize that is not the main subject of the verse. But as I read it recently, it struck me that, in our busy world, we often see home as a place to let go completely. But we still have a responsibility to our families, to bless them.
We give so much energy to the world and to our work. It isn’t fair to return home and not share our love with our family. It’s important to remember that as we seek to unwind, we can’t forget our duty to our family. That they need our kindness, and in many ways, we should be sharing our best selves with them. As parents, especially, our kids are learning from our example, and it’s vital to give them our best every time.
Tell what God has done for you
In Luke 8:39, we read, “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.” As a parent, it’s important to share with our kids the good things God does for us every day. As we do so, we are teaching them to look for God’s influence in their own lives.
It is a lesson best taught by example. In this verse, God is teaching us our important role as examples and as disciples of Christ. God loves a grateful heart, and gratitude requires awareness of our blessings.
I realize there are personally sacred things that happen. And we may not be ready to share all of those with our families. But it’s important to listen to the Spirit, because there will come a day when those sacred experiences need to be shared. I have one such experience that I was finally able to share with my son recently.
Share your story when it’s time
When I was in college, there was a boy I was dating, whom I knew I wasn’t going to marry. But for some reason, I decided it was ok to keep dating him. (Don’t do that.) One evening, we were kissing in his car. And I sensed a tall, muscular angel standing on the driver’s side of the car, just behind my boyfriend. And the angel said, “MOM! What are you DOING?!”
It was such a shock! I realized at that moment that my choices had greater consequences than I had ever realized. And when, years later, I married my husband and became pregnant with my son, I felt that same feeling as the angel who had stood outside that car window. And I knew that my son was that angel who had come to me to wake me up when I was making poor choices.
I shared this story with my son a few weeks ago, in a sacred moment. I had to laugh later that night when he stopped me to say, “MOM! What are you DOING?!” He had heard and understood the story and found the humor in it as only a teenager can.
Love your family
The third and final verses I want to share are about the pure love of Christ. If we apply it in our homes, we will have untold blessings. It comes from 1 Corinthains 13:4-13.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
In the King James Bible, the word love is substituted with the word ” charity. But I included the NIV version here because I think we sometimes forget that charity is essentially love. God has given us the perfect example to follow. And understanding that His efforts all come from His love for us is a beautiful way to illustrate how we should be with our families.
Freeway Miracle
When my son was small, it was easy to be patient with him because I knew he didn’t understand. Babies aren’t born knowing the rules; we need to teach them. Often, rules enforce themselves with natural consequences. For example, gravity is a law that if we break, we know immediately what will happen.
My two-year-old son was always experimenting with gravity. I think I spent most of that year catching him as he “experimented” off of every surface in creation. But other rules are less clearly defined. And as he has grown, it’s become more important to be patient with him because he is still learning.
Recently, he was out with a friend, and I got a phone call. They were on the freeway when traffic stopped suddenly, and he wasn’t able to stop in time. Nobody was hurt, but the car needed repairs. It would have been easy to freak out, and I did in my head. But almost immediately, I was reminded of the miracles that surrounded this accident.
First of all, the freeway is not a place where accidents often end with no injuries. That alone was amazing. Then the car’s limited damage was a second miracle. No airbags deployed, and the bumper was barely dented. You couldn’t even see the damage until the light reflected just so. And everyone was kind to my new driver son, which was miracle number three. I have never felt kind after being rearended. God was there in that moment, and I am so grateful.
As we seek to live more like God would have us live and apply the teachings of the scriptures with our families, we will find greater happiness. And I believe that is what God wants for us.
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