The Most Important Thing I've Learned

by Kerry Blair

I’m glad nobody’s ever asked me to name the most important thing I’ve learned in life. I’m terrible at quizzes. I’ve been shifting through superpowers all week and still can't pick one. I'm leaning toward Shandra Covington’s, however. I’d really like to scarf down everything in sight over the holidays (after drowning it in maple syrup and adding a side of noodles) without getting fat. Fatter.

But some people are brilliant under pressure. Betsy Green is one of them. This is evident from her author bio. She’s the wife of a bishop, mother of eight, grandmother of one adorable little girl, ward YW president, and author of – count them – eight chart-topping novels. Her Miss Eugenia won the “Favorite Character” award at the mystery dinner hands down. (We had to give Betsy both trophies because she’d created and portrayed Miss Eugenia.) Truly, this woman is a phenomenon in the world of LDS publishing -- and the world at large. She is also one of the most genuine, funny, Christlike people I have ever known. I don’t know what to call the superpower Betsy emanates, but it’s the one to have.

Here is one of her recent musings.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I'VE LEARNED

by Betsy Brannon Green

I was asked to represent my decade, the fifties, at a recent RS activity, and to describe the most important thing I’ve learned (so far) in my life. Since I have obviously learned many, many things, it was hard to identify the most important. But after some consideration this is what I’ve come up with.

We’ve all heard the phrase “this, too, shall pass.” I believe that within those words we can find a wealth of wisdom. My mother kept a journal for a few years while my father was in medical school and it is a treasure to me. My mother died young and I love to read about the happy, healthy times of her life. Following her example, I’ve kept a journal for many years and I hope that my children will enjoy reading it when I am gone.

It was while I was reading through an old journal that I found my most important lesson. I read about cars that wouldn’t start, bills that seemed impossible to pay, laundry that never got “finished” and children with constant ear infections. But now the cars I was worried about are in junkyards, the bills got paid somehow, the laundry still isn’t done, and the children can all hear. Time passes. The bad times won’t last forever and there are always good times to look forward to ahead. That’s an important thing to know and cling to during hard times. But there’s another, more subtle lesson that is even more important. That lesson is -- the good times pass too.

I read in my journal about my first date with the man who would eventually be my husband. I read about the birth of each baby, their first days of school. The Easter dresses and Halloween costumes I made. The Christmases and birthdays we shared. I read about ballgames and baptisms and graduations and weddings. Like the bad times, these wonderful moments in my life have gone and endure only in memory.

So the most important thing I’ve learned is that we must live each moment to the fullest. Endure the bad times well and remember that they won’t last forever. But don’t take the good times for granted. They won’t last forever either.

For more insightful excerpts from Betsy’s journal -- plus recipes, pictures, book reviews, goodies and much, much more, visit her website. Betsy Brannon Green.net