The Windows of Heaven

By Yaeko Seki

My family and I were spending a day at the Japan Alps National Park, surrounded by the mountains of the North Alps. My children were running around excitedly. I was pregnant with our fourth child and was feeling rather tired, so I lay down under the trees. Looking up at the blue, cloudless sky, I began thinking about our financial problems. My heart became overwhelmed, and I burst into tears. “Lord, we are full-tithe payers. We have sacrificed so much. When will the windows of heaven open unto us and our burdens be lightened?”

I prayed with all my heart. Then I turned to watch my husband and children playing and laughing together. The scene looked so peaceful and beautiful to me. Suddenly, the Spirit testified to me that my blessings were abundant and that my family was the greatest blessing Heavenly Father could give me.

From the time I was baptized at the age of seventeen, my strongest desire was to have a family filled with love. Now that I have the gentle husband and loving family I have always wished for, I try never to forget to thank God for this great treasure.

President Spencer W. Kimball once said, “The home, the family, is our base … [,] children and parents loving each other and dependent upon each other. That’s the way the Lord has planned for us to live” (in Conference Report, November 1974, page 113). I have engraved in my mind the goal to live with my family through the eternities.

“Mommy, are you crying?” my three-year-old son often asks me. Then I hold him and say, “Yes, honey, because I have such a beautiful family. I cannot help crying for joy. Let’s say ‘thank you’ to Heavenly Father.”

Illustrated by Dick Brown