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Oct 2006 Issue
by Amy McDonald
I was raised by an amazing mother. Although she had many positive qualities and winning parental methods, one in particular stands out to me: she encouraged my efforts to work.
As a child I always looked for some way to earn money. I had an innate interest in business and money and often concocted my own little projects to earn a few extra dollars.
One of these projects was teaching gymnastics on the living room floor. While I’m sure that my mother was not entirely thrilled with the idea of me teaching a group of four and five year olds to do cartwheels on her living room floor, to her credit, she recognized my inherent desire to understand the ins and outs of running a business.
She helped me print up business cards for the “business.” She also helped me call neighborhood families who had kids the right age, and she graciously allowed me to use the living room floor as the training ground for my school of young athletes. As a ten-year-old girl I got the message loud and clear: My mother believed that my business venture was worthwhile and important. She taught me that I could plan and run a business on my own and that it was an acceptable and even desirable thing for me to do.
As I grew older I was encouraged to pursue an education and to prepare myself for the world of work.
As a high school student I often held jobs during summer or winter break. One holiday season I worked at a popular clothing store. I had no intention of continuing to work in that position after the holiday season ended. I also had no intention of ever pursuing a career in the retail sales industry.
However, my mother had the wisdom to encourage me to use that time to gain whatever employable skills I could. She advised me specifically to learn how to use the cash register. This skill was not required as part of my employment agreement; however, my mother felt strongly that I should leave that position having a tangible skill I could use in the future.
Although I never again needed to be able to run a cash register, I have always been grateful for the lesson I was taught about the importance of acquiring a skill that would enable me to earn a living.
Now that I’m grown and have a family of my own I am grateful for my mother’s encouragement. In large part because of her I graduated from college, began a promising career and then took a “leave of absence” from that career to stay at home with my children.
Like most families we’ve often felt extreme financial pressures. At times we’ve even wondered how our family’s basic needs would be met. On each of these occasions we prayed for guidance to know what course of action we should take.
Several times our prayers were answered when a job, flexible working arrangement, or “work at home” opportunity became available for me. I truly believe that because my mother urged me to prepare for the world of employment the Lord has been able to use the education and skills I’ve acquired to bless our family.
The young men and women of this generation will face struggles unlike any in history. Many young women, for example, will be compelled to enter the world of work by forces that were non-existent in past generations. Issues such as rising healthcare costs, rising divorce rates, and unpredictable economic conditions all necessitate that our young women prepare themselves with employable skills so that they are able to work when the need arises.
I am grateful for the foresight of a mother who understood the prophet’s counsel that young people should get all the education they can and prepare themselves for the world of work.
Amy McDonald is a member of the Deer Springs Ward, Las Vegas Tule Springs Stake.
