Blood, Sweat and Tears

I watched a short You-Tube video, Acton Hero David Carrington who spoke about his experience being an entrepreneur.  One of his first comments was about “low-hanging fruit”, how most people go looking for the easy ideas in entrepreneurship, when the best ideas are usually the third one or so.  I also read a talk by Jeffrey R. & Patricia T. Holland entitled, “However Long and Hard the Road”.  I really enjoyed the quotes by Winston Churchill from WW2 and his commitment to fight to the end.  What I think touched me the most was the account of building the Salt Lake Temple.  I have heard all of my life that it took 40 years to construct, I knew they had to cover over the foundation at one point and actually ended up replacing it and making it bigger.  What I didn’t know is that Brigham Young and the original architect didn’t live to see it completed.  I wondered how many workers who worked so hard on that building, didn’t live to see it completed.  Through Elder Hollands description of the length of time, blood, sweat and tears that went into the building, even as the walls slowly went up, I felt their exhaustion.  I thought of the many people who may have watched and watched and waited and waited, feeling like it may never be completed. Then as he shared the experience of President Lorenzo Snow placing the last piece, the thousands of people gathered and the shouts and joy and crying and the spirit that must have been there, I felt I glimpsed their triumphant feelings in some small way.  I couldn’t help but think, this is how it is for the things that really matter.  We work so hard, we wait so long, we invest so much of our lives, blood, sweat and tears, to see our work come to fruition.  If we are going to give so much of our precious life to something, we had better make sure it is worth the sacrifice.  To me few things are worth that effort, my family- yes, my faith- yes, outside of that, I think I would have to be convinced by God that it was His will.  As I consider my entrepreneurial ideas I realize I don’t want to go for the “low-hanging fruit,” as well as in my life.  The easy path sometimes seems so tempting, especially for the weary, the worn out, the discouraged.  I don’t begrudge any who take it, I can only consider that for me I will follow the guidance of the spirit wherever it may lead.  Some days may prove easier than others, but what I really want is to become worthy to be called a Christian, a good wife and mother, and maybe a good entrepreneur….