No Reciprocity Needed

When we receive a gift, we feel indebted to the giver. We want to give something back of equal value. Yet, most friends, family members, and other givers of gifts don't expect that of us. They don't give us gifts with the expectation of receiving something in return. That's not how "giving" works. Sure, it's nice to give back to the people who give gifts to us, but when we can't repay the gift, whether because we didn't bring a gift to the party or because we can't afford the same quality of gift we've received or for any other reason, the best thing to do is to thank the giver, make good use of the gift, and move on, no reciprocity needed.

This is especially true with the Atonement. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the greatest gift we've ever been given and could ever be given. As such, there's no way that we could ever repay that gift, and Christ doesn't expect us to. He just expects us to thank Him and make good use of His gift by repenting and becoming pure. The best and only way to "pay Jesus back" is to use His gift to become like Him.

We don't need to worry about repaying Jesus or anyone else who gives us a good gift. It's natural to want to reciprocate, and it's probably good to do so when we can, but we don't need to worry about it, especially in the case of Christ's Atonement. Reciprocation is nice, and it feels fair, but it isn't needed.

Sharing a Single-Player Game

I got a new game as an early Christmas present, and I really love it. The only issue is that it's a single-player game, meaning that it's harder to share the experience of the game with others. Yet, my brother and I have found a way. For a while, he watched me play. Right now, I'm watching him play. At some point, we might try splitting the controller between us, so we each have half of the controls. However we share the game, I'm glad we can both have fun with it and share the experience of playing the game. As with most other things I've done this last week, sharing this game with my family makes it more fun, even if it was only meant to be a single-player game.

Putting Family (or Schoolwork) First

That week went by too fast, and now it's back to the same old routine of tying to do homework as early as possible and hopefully having time for other things afterward. I know my homework is important and urgent and I really need to do it, but still, it was nice to have a week when I was able to put family first.

Yet, the more I think about it, the more I think I should put family first. Looking at the long-term consequences of various choices, it's fairly plain to realize that the few assignments I have left aren't likely to drastically adjust my grades in these classes, and even if they do, my grades in these classes aren't likely to drastically change my GPA overall, and even if they do adjust the average slightly, that isn't likely to diminish my prospects of getting a decent job. These last few assignments aren't very important. I'll still do them, but I don't necessarily need to devote much time to them, with the exceptions of the finals.

In contrast, family matters, eternally. My family relationships are important and will continue to remain important long after no one cares what my grades, GPA, or occupation were in mortality. Perhaps I can afford to continuing to prioritize spending time with family. Perhaps, despite the end of Thanksgiving week, I should continue the practice of putting family first.

More Fun with Family

I did a lot of fun things today. I watched a few YouTube videos, played Breath of the Wild and Disc Golf, and ate pizza at Round Table. And all of those things were more fun because I did them with family. It was fun to chat about the videos, to solve puzzles together, compare our luck and skill at throwing discs, and hang out at a large, conglomerated dinner table. I could have done any of those things alone. Watching videos, playing games, and eating pizza can all be done alone, and one can enjoy the solitude of doing such things on one's own, but today I was reminded that such things can also be even more fun when they're done together.

A Tradition of Family Time

I don't normally put much stock in tradition. Normally, I don't see much value in doing things the way others have done them, just because others have done them that way. However, I do see the value in some traditions, including the tradition of bringing families together at least once per year to share meals, games, and quality time with each other. This week has been lovely, and that has been largely because I've been able to spend much of it with family. Naturally, introvert that I am, I can get overwhelmed by the presence of too many people or too much noise, but we have thankfully been able to avoid that this year, and I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful for the amount of time I've been able to spend with my family this week, and I'm grateful for the tradition that gives us an excuse to get together.

Family and a Friend

I had a wonderful day today, and what made it so wonderful was that I was able to spend it with a small circle of my closest family members and my closest friend, who had been welcomed into our home to share Thanksgiving with us. Being with them, chatting with them, playing with them, eating with them, and just spending time with them, was an absolutely wonderful experience.

I hope heaven is as heavenly as today was. I know that, in eternity, we will be able to be with our faithful family members. My hope is that our heavenly home will also be open to a handful of our closest friends.

Bringing Families Together

Today, I had an opportunity to get together with family members that I hadn't seen in person in quite some time, but first, I had an opportunity to bring together family members that I have never seen at all. This morning, I went to the Temple with some family members, and we did some sealings, linking together families that I have never met. It was a nice experience, and it's wonderful to think that, because of what we did today, those families will be able to be together for Thanksgiving, for Christmas, and Forever. There's never a bad time to bring families together, but there are few better times to do so than the holidays.