While the Lord continues to pour blessings upon us when we choose to serve Him and follow the Spirit, there are undoubtedly sacrifices we are asked to make as members of His Church. There's no doubt that with a calling as an apostle, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has had to adjust much of his life to his Church service. Yet his perspective shows us what truly counts when it comes to serving the Lord.
As Harriet and I have served in the Church for the last several decades, we sometimes are asked about sacrifices we have been asked to make. For most of our lives, we wondered when the real sacrifices would come. We were so blessed that nothing we were asked to do seemed like a serious sacrifice.
When I was called to serve as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve and we had to relocate our permanent home to the United States, it became clear that we would never be able to live again in Europe and be close to our family and longtime friends. That is when we realized that there was now the touch of sacrifice.
Since then, we have been blessed to have some family members move closer to us, while others still are halfway around the world. Some members of our family we only are able to see about once per year—and usually just for a short time.
To all of you who have the opportunity to be in close contact with your families, I encourage you to take advantage of those moments. The marvels of the internet allow us to be in contact with others in ways we never dreamed of before, but a video chat is not the same as being able to hug, walk, talk, and play with those you love most.