A companion for the journey

Like any good and notable adventurer, though I'm not actually one, I too have a cherished companion who always seems to have my back. This companion is my wife. How to describe her.... There are at least a million different things that I could say to praise her for the blessing that she is in my life and for her impeccable character but I doubt that even all of the blogs in the world would be sufficient to give you a picture of the grandeur of her womanhood. She is, in every sense of the phrase, the "Proverbial Woman" as described in Proverbs 31. The reason why I've dedicated this blog post to her is due to a potent lesson I learned this past week while I was at work. Currently I work at the Utah Food Bank in Salt Lake City as a Volunteer Project Specialist. Basically what I do is I help train the many volunteers that come in daily to assist us in the timely and efficient completion of the various projects that we do to help fight hunger in the state of Utah. It was while I was at work one night talking with one of the volunteers that I was brought, again, to the knowledge of a serious problem that I have that I've needed to fix for a while now. I have always loved to tease people because I enjoy the reactions I get out of them, I guess you could say that I find it really entertaining. Pretty pathetic and immature huh? This is an issue that's been brought to my attention many times and I'm sorry to say that I've never really made much of an effort to overcome this great imperfection of mine. So even on into my marriage I still struggle with this and my poor wife has been nothing but patient and loving with me. On top of everything that she has to deal with she also has to come home to a husband who can really be a little relentless sometimes with the "tonterias" as they would say in Spanish, or in our language just plain old foolishness. So I've committed now to really work at this whole teasing thing and just grow up and be a more responsible and mature adult. I imagine that by now you're asking yourself "so what in the world do your personal problems have to do with my life?" The moral of the story is (I've always wanted to write that) that I believe it is so important that we are cognizant not only of who we ourselves are, because I can bet you the whole world that you're not perfect and that you have things to improve just as much as I do, but also of how the things we do affect others, especially those whom we love. I tease out of fun, yet for others and especially for my wife it's not necessarily a very pleasant experience and so it is time for me to wake up and smell the roses, it has been time for a long time now. We need to cherish our friends and loved ones, and also all of those around us. I believe that perhaps one of the greatest manifestations of love and respect for someone can be manifest in our willingness and sincere efforts to change ourselves for the better. To be the best person that we can possibly be. Now you might ask, "how on earth am I to know how to be the best person I can be if I don't even know what the best person I can be is?" I think the answer to a question like that can only be found in our Savior Jesus Christ, as He was the only perfect one to have walked this earth. Multiple times He brings attention to the fact that He is the light, the life, and the way and that we are to come unto Him in order to receive salvation. I contend that in order to really come unto Him that we must become like Him, through developing "Christlike" attributes. They're called "Christlike" for a reason. And I suppose that with my goal of being more kind and loving to my wife, and to all of those around me that I am seeking to try and become just a little bit more like Him, our perfect example so that my "companion for the journey", my wonderful wife, will choose to continue to be my companion even after this mortal journey is over and on into the journey of the eternities.