Team Effort

Unity equals teamwork. There's a common phrase that fits this sentence- There is no 'I' in teamwork. Truly working together as a team means to think of the other players around you and how to help them succeed in their position. Is teamwork important in marriage and families? It wont be a surprise when I tell you, of course it is! I'm currently not married so to apply the message of unity to my situation, I'll focus on how I'm working to build up my family team.

I have five kids, one daughter followed by four boys. Quite often (every day actually) I'm breaking up arguments or fights and dealing with contention even though these kids are playing on the same family team! I know it's partly their ages and that it's a challenge for siblings to get along all the time. Still, it's frustrating! My lack of patience has gotten the better of me more time than I can count. Talking with some friends one day, I voiced my troubles with really feeling family unity among my kids. My friend was quick to tell how he pulls his kids together on a regular basis. He refers to their family as 'Team Andersen' and uses sports talk to encourage teammate behavior. If there's any sort of talk that pulls my boys in, sports talk is it.

I came home and went right to work. I started reminding them how important it is to work together and that without each other, getting back to our Heavenly Father would be much harder. Sometimes when I would hear them fighting I would simply say, "Team Bushman!" I quoted this song in an earlier blog post but it also applies here. In the primary song, The Family is of God we sing, "God gave us families, to help us become what he wants us to be." A gift. Our families are a gift from God. A crucible to refine and shape us into something better.

Henry B. Eyring said, "The sacramental prayer can remind us every week of how the gift of unity will come through obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we keep our covenants to take His name upon us, to remember Him always, and to keep all His commandments, we will receive the companionship of His Spirit. That will soften our hearts and unite us." Unity in a family (or a marriage) requires commitment and patience. Elder Eyring said the sacrifices we make as a family when we pray for and serve one another will lead to hearts bound in love.