Six Words

On my sister-in-law, Heather's, blog she said:

"It was rumored that Hemingway was challenged to write a story in a single sentence, and has since become the standard to which micro-fiction should aspire. His story is as follows:

'For sale: baby shoes, never used.'

Amazing. Perfectly succinct and to the point."

She goes on to say that she was challenged to write her own six words and this is what she came up with:

"Eternity. It makes all the difference."

I love that!

Heather then asked us what our six words would be. It really got me thinking.

Last night as I was rocking Kyson to sleep I was trying to come up with my six words and a talk I have been thinking about a lot lately came to mind. Although these are not my own words, I love them and want to share them with you.

"Come What May, and Love It"

Do you recognize these six words? It comes from Elder Joseph B Wirthlin's final talk in this last conference. His mother said these words to him when he was young and they have stayed with him ever since. I have listened to this talk and read it many times and the message he shares is just beautiful. Here is one of my favorite parts where he is talking about what his mother meant by these words:

"I think she may have meant that every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result."

I have been faced with some difficult things this past year and I hope that I am "stronger, wiser, and happier as a result."

I also love this entire section of his talk. It is so funny!

"Learn to Laugh

The first thing we can do is learn to laugh. Have you ever seen an angry driver who, when someone else makes a mistake, reacts as though that person has insulted his honor, his family, his dog, and his ancestors all the way back to Adam? Or have you had an encounter with an overhanging cupboard door left open at the wrong place and the wrong time which has been cursed, condemned, and avenged by a sore-headed victim?

There is an antidote for times such as these: learn to laugh.

I remember loading up our children in a station wagon and driving to Los Angeles. There were at least nine of us in the car, and we would invariably get lost. Instead of getting angry, we laughed. Every time we made a wrong turn, we laughed harder.

Getting lost was not an unusual occurrence for us. Once while heading south to Cedar City, Utah, we took a wrong turn and didn’t realize it until two hours later when we saw the “Welcome to Nevada” signs. We didn’t get angry. We laughed, and as a result, anger and resentment rarely resulted. Our laughter created cherished memories for us.

I remember when one of our daughters went on a blind date. She was all dressed up and waiting for her date to arrive when the doorbell rang. In walked a man who seemed a little old, but she tried to be polite. She introduced him to me and my wife and the other children; then she put on her coat and went out the door. We watched as she got into the car, but the car didn’t move. Eventually our daughter got out of the car and, red faced, ran back into the house. The man that she thought was her blind date had actually come to pick up another of our daughters who had agreed to be a babysitter for him and his wife.

We all had a good laugh over that. In fact, we couldn’t stop laughing. Later, when our daughter’s real blind date showed up, I couldn’t come out to meet him because I was still in the kitchen laughing. Now I realize that our daughter could have felt humiliated and embarrassed. But she laughed with us, and as a result, we still laugh about it today.

The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable."

I laugh every time I read that section! If you are interested in reading the entire talk click HERE.

I love Elder Worthlin and I will miss his talks in Conference. I am grateful for this last message he shared with us. I am going to try to make this my motto,

"Come What May, and Love It!"

What about you, do you have six words you would like to share?