More than Just Peanut Butter

Meals in our house are always fun. Jared, my son, knows the routine, so when I tell him it's time to make lunch he usually beats me to the kitchen. We decided today was sandwich day so I went to the pantry to get the peanut butter. As soon as I pulled it out, he opened the silverware drawer, grabbed a fork and started pushing me towards his highchair. He saw the peanut butter and knew that was what he wanted AT THAT MOMENT.

When it dawned on him I wasn't going anywhere, he did what any toddler would do: he threw a nasty all-out-screaming-and-crying tantrum. He decided to whine and complain because he wanted just the peanut butter, while I was still pushing forward because I knew the peanut butter was only a small part of the whole sandwich. I was frustrated he was screaming, but I wasn't going to bend my will to his because I knew what would happen in the end. I tried to tell him this in ways he would understand, but he wouldn't listen because he was so focused on the peanut butter. We continued this way until our wills met with me finishing the sandwich; our perspectives were finally in line.

It dawned on me this is how Heavenly Father feels when we forget to focus on the eternal perspective while in this mortal realm. We only remember this earth, so when decisions/situations don't go the way we planned, we tend to complain or wonder why. We are so focused on the peanut butter that we forget about the whole sandwich.

Luckily, as members of the church, we have the chance to realize our full potential beyond this earth, Elder LeGrand Richards said:

God bless[ed] you to realize where you came from and the great privileges that are yours. If the veil were rolled back and you could just see one glimpse of God’s great eternal plan concerning you and who you are, it would not be hard for you to love Him, keep His commandments, and live to be worthy of every blessing that He has had for you since before the foundations of the world were laid (“Patriarchal Blessings,” New Era, Feb. 1977, p. 7).

Heavenly Father gives us the tools to remember our potential; it's up to us to stop focusing on the peanut butter and look forward to feasting in the eternities.