As I’ve been figuring out how to mother my two little kids, the phrase on repeat in my mind has been “sufficient is the day” from 3 Nephi 13:34. I always thought it was the Savior’s way of reassuring His disciples that, like the lilies and sparrows, they would have just enough to survive from one day to the next. I’ve often rehearsed the phrase sardonically, feeling it to be my survival-mode mantra.
But then, out of curiosity, I researched the deeper meaning behind the word “sufficient.” While “sufficient” comes from a Latin term meaning “adequate,” the English equivalent— “enough”—comes from an Old English root that means something far more generous.
The origin of “enough” involves two primary elements: The prefix indicates completeness, wholeness, or togetherness. The root means “to reach, attain, or obtain.”
So the word means, in a way, “to reach or attain wholeness, completeness, or togetherness.”
What a difference!
Our understanding of the scripture then transforms from “You will have just enough to make it from one day to the next” into “Each day is perfecting you. Each day is whole. Each day contains its own completeness.” And each day—with our intentional consecration—binds us more completely into togetherness, companionship with an unfailingly generous Godhead.
Today, I take this reframing to mean: You can be both whole and a work in progress.
So, when the baby is crying because she’s hungry yet again, when the toddler is whining because I made her the exact lunch that she requested, when I’m tripping over the clingy dog and trying to scarf down cold scrambled eggs because I haven’t eaten all day and I feel like I’m about to pass out—I repeat the phrase in my heart. “Sufficient is the day.” And not just “to the evil (demands) thereof,” but to my own wholeness. A complete, transformative micro-experience for an eternal being.
The days blur together, but they also add up. I love the glimpses I get of where I’m headed and how far I’ve come. My life is enough—more than enough—for me. What a gift!
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