It Takes Faith

Why I Can't Stop Reading Mormon Housewife Blogs

So I read the article above the other day, because one of my favorite blogs I follow is mentioned (Nat the Fat Rat) and it's about Mormon mommy bloggers and how non-member women become obsessed with them and all that they portray. Now I definitely don't consider myself as one of the bloggers this article mentions but I did agree that those blogs tend to be more uplifting than the average. The article attributes some of it to staging...that these women are putting on their best front to he world but that underneath they are a crumbling mess of depression buoyed by medication. I know there are many women who are struggling with that and I don't mean to belittle their experience at all ( I have fought depression myself) but there is a critical aspect that the 20-something women mentioned in the article are taking for granted... Faith. Faith does bring joy into our lives daily. We aren't wives and mothers because we are Told to; we are because we Want to. It brings us Joy. Joy is not the absence of sadness or trials; it is having a greater perspective and choosing happiness over sadness. It is not easy and I am not smiling just to put on a good face. My mantra for this year is "life is what we make it". We have choices every single day. No, things are not perfect, but when something challenges us we choose how to react and how to let it affect us. I have to say this mantra to myself ALL THE TIME but I never have pretended to be perfect did I? :) A lot of people now-a-days see those with faith in a church or religion as naive but that is simply not true for me. In my case I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Our church is perfect as it's leader is Jesus Christ, but it's members are still human and not infallible by a long shot. I find joy in my family. I find joy in my Church. I find joy and peace through my faith... Not that I don't have to work at it, but anything worth having is worth working for. The Savior led a peaceful life and that is not the same as a quiet life without trials or hardships. He came to lead by example and to do what we could not do for ourselves. I follow Him and He leads me to happiness. Keeping our eyes focused on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ keep us unified as a family and gives us greater perspective and for that I am eternally grateful.