A Valuable Lesson
It reminded me of a visit we had to Salt Lake a few years ago. John was just under a year old at the time and he had just become proficient at walking. With his new independence, he seemed to get into everything. During our trip, we were staying with some friends and I was nervous about him making a mess of their house. As grandparents often do, they had a plethora of toys to keep John entertained. Sensing my nervousness, I remember Sister McDonough repeatedly saying, “Nothing is sacred. He can play with whatever he would like.” It caught me a bit off-guard because their home felt like a sacred space. However, if you split the word to “no thing”, it makes sense. It is not the things in their home, or any home for that matter, that make it sacred. Of course, some decor can invite the spirit and other decor can chase it away but, more so, it is the feelings and love shared within a family that create that spirit. In the talk, For Peace at Home, Elder Richard G. Scott discusses how it is our habits, decisions and our focus that help us to keep our homes a sacred space. He says, “Be certain that every decision you make, whether temporal or spiritual, is conditioned on what the Savior would have you do. When He is the center of your home, there is peace and serenity. There is a spirit of assurance that pervades the home, and it is felt by all who dwell there.” As we focus on the feelings in our home, we are able to make it a sacred space. The words we use, the reverence we bring, the prayers we say, can all invite the Spirit into our homes more abundantly than any thing.
