“Awaiting Your Visit: One Sister’s Perspective,” Ensign, January 2017
Awaiting Your Visit: One Sister’s Perspective
Does it appear my family doesn’t need home and visiting teachers? Please think again.
Today, when we talked about when you could come visit my family and me, you said, “Oh, I know you are fine. We’ll catch you another time.”
That may be true based on what you see: a good marriage, financial security, faithful church attendance, dedication to Church callings, and well-adjusted children. From the outside, it may look like we have things under control and don’t need help from anyone. While it’s true that we have been deeply blessed in many ways and we feel grateful to Heavenly Father for His kindness, it’s not true that we don’t need home and visiting teachers.
For instance, did you know that over the years we have moved several times and have experienced difficulty in starting over in a new ward? Did you know that because of the size of our family I am sometimes overwhelmed with the tasks at hand? Did you know that my husband’s frequent travels shift much of the heavy burden of running the home and family to my shoulders? Did you know that we have children who are grown and living outside of our home, and that I have worried about one of them and his testimony? Did you know that we have been dealing with depression and an eating disorder among our children? And did you know that both my husband and I are struggling right now with some health issues?
Of course, life is full of challenges and problems for all of us. Some days run more smoothly than others. These trials and challenges are just part of our earthly existence.
Even if you were to come to do home or visiting teaching, we might choose not to share some of these private things, but we would still love to have you in our home. That way, if the time came that we did feel like sharing some of our burdens, we would feel that you were a safe person to share with. Maybe we could even begin a friendship.
We might not ask you to do anything for us—that’s generally not our way—but we would like the company of fellow Latter-day Saints in our home, sharing their spirit and their testimony of gospel principles with our family. We would love our children to see how the process of home and visiting teaching works.
Please know that we see you as our brother or sister. Please come to our home and teach our family. Please come to our home, sit with us, and help us fill our cup. Then we will all be refreshed.