Family Teamwork

Life's not fair. We don't all get what we want, and life is tough. Sometimes it takes everything in us to get through the day. I believe that we were given families to help us through these times. We have mothers to cool our foreheads when we're sick. We have siblings to eat lunch with when we are along. We have spouses to hold our hands and to be our rock amidst the storms of life. I hope that at some point in our life we can be that to someone else. Martina McBride said it best in the following lyrics:

I know that you're afraid and I am, too

But you'll never be alone, I promise you

When you're weak, I'll be strong

When you let go, I'll hold on

When you need to cry, I swear that I'll be there to dry your eyes

When you feel lost and scared to death

Like you can't take one more step

Just take my hand, together we can do it

I'm gonna love you through it.

And when this road gets too long

I'll be the rock you lean on

Just take my hand, together we can do it

I'm gonna love you through it

In our marriages, we create partnerships and as a family we are a team. This team is similar to the Avengers. The Avengers aren't heroes because of their fancy outfits and their cool name. Being a team isn't the important thing, it's the teamwork. Perhaps the most important part of that word is the second half: work.

So many blessings come from working together as families. It, "provides endless opportunities to recognize and fill others' needs. It thus teaches us to love and serve one another, inviting us to be like Jesust Christ" (Hawkins et al). An ideal life is not free of work. We have jobs to go to, houses to clean, meals to cook, and children to raise. "Adam and Eve found joy in leving the garden to face the labors of life... [and] by doing so could they grow toward godhead" (Hawkins et al).

But can such work be fun? The answer is a resounding "Yes!" Some of my favorite memories from my childhood are of the times we worked together as a family. Whether it was raking the garden, mowing the yard, or moving rocks, the job seemed less difficult because I was working with my family.  Working together provides "daily opportunities for parents to teach while working alongside their children" and allows family members "to bond while they work together to serve the family" (Hawkins et al). 

Each member of the family is needed in family work. A team cannot fuction if it is missing a member. The Avengers can't save the day without Captain America leading the way. Children must learn to take responsibility for their chores, mothers set the role for housework, and fathers set the standard for participation in family work.

Sources:

Hawkins, A., Dollahite, D., & Draper, T. (2012). The Meanings and Blessings of Family Work. In Successful Marriages and Families: Proclamation Principles and Research Perspectives. Provo, Utah: BYU Studies and School of Family Life, Brigham Young University.

Isaacs, S., Yeary, J., Hayslip, B. (2001). I’m Gonna Love You Through It [Recorded by Martina McBride]. On Eleven [cd]. Nashville, Tennessee: Republic Nashville