March 4th

For me, March 4th is a mini-holiday of sorts.  It is, after all, mandate.  Have you ever thought about it?  Today is the day that the calendar says to us all:  March Forth!

And isn’t that what you feel like doing now that February is over and simply turning the calendar is proof that spring is on the way?  There is so much I want to do as the weather warms up!

I try to talk to my children on March 4th about the concept of marching forth in life to accomplish what we should be doing.  Sometimes it’s fun to turn on some marching music and let the little ones parade around the house waving flags.  Some years we’ve all set or re-dedicated ourselves to our goals.  Some years I’ve traced my children’s feet as a reminder that we need to be moving in positive directions.

For me personally it’s a wonderful day to pause and review what’s really important to me.  I always find myself doing this at the turn of a new year, at the beginning of summer vacation, and when school starts again in the fall.  Adding March 4th to the list of times when I re-focus my mind and heart has been beneficial.

So, even while the snow falls outside my windows this afternoon, I am pondering spring.  I am pondering how I need to adjust my days to set me on a straighter course to the life I really want.

In our modern world, the idea of marching is tied closely to parades and celebrations.  But historically, marching has meant armies moving great distances over rough terrain.  It has meant migration for different groups of people, and often migration not of their choosing.  While I’ve never been on such a march, I imagine that it gets really hard, especially in the middle.

Life is a march over long distances, through lots of mud and rain and sun and drought.  It is also a march that involves brilliant moments of illumination, breathtaking views, refreshing water and cool breezes.  It is up to me to seek the beauty, up to me to stay on course, up to me to just KEEP GOING.

One of my all-time greatest heroes, Gordon B. Hinckley, was asked once how he managed to get so much done, to preside over an international church with millions of members while in his 90’s.  His response was that every night when he went to bed, he made sure he got up the next morning.

Sometimes marching involves cresting a hill and marveling at the view below.  Other times it simply means that we endure, that we get out of bed again and do our very best, even when our best seems like nothing.

So today I say…

Keep Going Look Up Endure Press Forward Search Diligently MARCH FORTH!

If you need some inspiration, do a little research on Henry Knox and how he moved some 80 cannon through terrible circumstances to Boston at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War.

His assessment:  “Perseverance accomplished what at first seemed impossible.”
I call that a quote worth memorizing.

What will you march forth to do?

Jennifer