Not Just Mother's Day

This year is more than just the regular Mother's Day for us. It was six years ago that Eric and I became a couple. We always remember this day, but it makes it extra special when the date falls on Mother's Day just as is did six years ago.
As any return missionary can tell you, there are things that you wish you would have explained more to those you teach; things that are just as important as making that baptismal covenant but that might become more like checkpoints in a discussion rather than full explanations and discussions in and of themselves. Yes, that is the point of continuing one's spiritual education for the rest of one's life, but a missionary, like a mother, desires to ensure that teaching happens. And, when given a unique opportunity to teach those people when you are no longer a "titled" missionary, you take it in both hands and run with it.
We spent the day before at a baptism which was the reason Eric came back to Vegas in the first place. He was asked to return to baptize the son of a family he had earlier baptized during his mission. Then, Eric and I were visiting with a couple I taught on the mission. The wife deals with a lot of constant pain and the husband works hard to provide for them. When he got off work that morning (he worked at night), he realized he had forgotten to pick something up to honor his wife on Mother's Day. Wanting to honor his wife, he was ready to go back out and do his duty as a husband and purchase something on the Sabbath. As it is counseled in our faith, we try to do our best NOT to do this. To keep the Sabbath day holy, we try not to work or cause anyone else to work on Sunday. In doing this, we keep the Sabbath holy and can help others not to break the Sabbath because they have to man the stores for our lack of preparation. Six days are given for man to work and do those things and then on the seventh we are to rest, worship God and rejuvenate for the next week.
Eric and I immediately seized the opportunity to further teach this concept and offered to create and nice meal for our friends. Since Eric was staying at another house, it would be a special treat for them just to dine together instead of making dinner themselves and then having to clean up. The husband agreed and we left to prepare a fine dining experience for them.
A long story short, it was through the realization that the gospel was the center of both of our lives that we found ourselves staring at our best friend and, unknowingly, our eternal companion. I am so grateful for the way the Lord orchestrates our lives to create the most happiness for us. Thus, Mother's Day means something more to me than honoring my Mother or having the children sing on Sunday or something like that. To me, Mother's Day will always bring with it the memory of the beginning of the best friendship and relationship that I will ever experience with another human being.
So, in addition to saying Happy Mother's Day to my mom and my grandmothers, I also want to say Happy ANNIVERSARY to Eric. I love you and am more amazed by you every day.