Ever WONDER about the blessings that come from a Ward Family?

Ever WONDER about the blessings that come from a Ward Family?

I have been thinking about the blessing of a ward family.
I guess I am a slow learner, but I just realized that many of our blessings come wrapped up in side of our struggles.
Having three members of our family serving full time missions at the same time, is a wonderful blessing…it also brings many struggles.
The most obvious is financial. We have been blessed abundantly by so many of our fellow ward members. There  have been small donations made by retired people on fixed income (remind you of the widows mite?). To very substantial donations by those who have more. Each is a very precious, and sacred sacrifice to me.
Another less obvious, but still difficult struggle, is the vacancy I feel at Holidays and for family traditions. The ward is helping to feel my sad heart. My family typically has what we call the Family Band. Most of my family members play musical instruments, and at Christmas time we dust them off and play Christmas songs together. This year, with three of our band members serving missions, and other family member living out of state, I was feeling an emptiness. And then one of the Young Women in the ward got the idea to put together a Young Women’s Orchestra. She is so kind that she said even the leaders could be included. We will be playing songs at the ward Christmas Party. The Young Men were feeling a little jealous and so they put together a Young Men’s Band. It may seem a small thing to many of you, but to me, it means the world! It is a tender mercy from My Heavenly Father, when I was feeling so sad.  A similar tender mercy was on the 4th of July. When everyone pitched in and helped with the block party. I was left in tears that night. I thought, “I think this is what Heaven must be like.” Thanks
This line of thinking, brought to remembrance a long list of other blessings, and tender mercies …all given through the kind hands of my ward family. I will try to list them all, but please forgive me if I forget a few.
*64 years of Primary teachers (that does not even count Sunday School)
*12 years of Cub Scout den leaders
*9 years of Young Women leaders (that means 9 Girls Camp and 5 Youth Conferences)
*13 years of Young Men/Boy Scout leaders (8 High Adventure camps, 5 Scout camps, and 9 Youth Conferences)
*swimming lessons for me and my children
*”doctor” and “nurse” visits to ask vital question like, “does this need stitches?”  “do you think it’s broken?”
*19 years of Visiting Teachers
*19 years of Home Teachers
*shoulders to cry on
*arms to give me hugs
*meals
*friendly smiles
*prayers offered in our behalf
*fasting
*friends
*love
*putting our names on the temple prayer rolls
*faithfully fulfilling your calling (it makes mine easier)
*helping me teach my children to work (putting up with crooked lawn mowing, and broken sprinkler heads, so that I can teach them how to do a job well and be proud of their efforts)
*allowing our family to do service for you, so that my children can feel the Spirit service brings
*patience
*forgiveness
*visits
*sharing of testimony
*holding my hand during the really heart breaking times, so I won’t have to be alone
*notes to remind me, “Heavenly Father loves you!”
*restoring crashed computers and deleted SD cards
*writing resumes
*editing my writings
*transportation emergencies
*helping with math homework that is too hard
*plumbing emergencies
*hospital visits
*car repairs
*lending of tools
*Priesthood blessings
**pretty much filling in all the gaps that I would never be able to do on my own
And the list could go on and on
I think about the covenants we make in the temple to live the Law of Consecration. In a very practical way, I think being a member of a WONDERFUL ward like this one helps us practice.
Our ward seems to have more than our fair share of medical and physical trials at the moment. My mind was brought back to another time about 16 years ago when the trial was the loss of several babies. I think of how our ward grew through that time. Apparently we are headed into another growing season. While I don’t look forward to it, I look forward to going through it with all of you by my side.
Thanks again. I have been truly blessed by My Ward Family.
Love You All

Some WONDER-ful News about Burdens

I went to the temple this morning. I had many friends and family members on my mind. The very first thing I did was go to the prayer roll and write down a few names of those I know are facing struggles. I decided to do some Initiatory. As I sat there pondering the trials we face in life, one phrase in a long list of blessings stood out to me: “that they may bear the burdens that may be placed thereon.” I began to ponder on this phrase. I thought about those I love who are dealing with burdens now. I thought to myself, why do some people seems to have burdens that are so heavy, with no end in sight?
That is when the Spirit began to teach me.
One line from one of my children’s Patriarchal Blessings came to mind: “He knows the circumstances under which you will grow and develop.” I think this is true for all of us. Jacob 5 :22 “…Counsel me not; I knew that it was a poor spot of ground; wherefore, …I have nourished it this long time,…” The challenge for us then, is to realize that some of our burdens are put there by a loving Heavenly Father, to help us grow and develop. The next part of the challenge is to look around us at how He is nourishing us in these ’poor spots of ground’.
The second thing that came to mind was an essay I read years ago by Sister Sherri Dew. She related a personal experience regarding burdens vs. baggage.
She was in New York for a meeting. She was staying on the 44th floor of a hotel when the fire alarms went off at 3:00 a.m. She admits that in a moment of “vanity” she decided to quickly gather her things and carry everything with her down all 44 floors. (She did not want to look bad for her morning meeting.) “It was a grueling 1232 stairs straight down” carrying 40 pounds of luggage. She says, “Burdens have the potential to exalt us, but baggage just weighs us down and wears us out.” She lists some things that she feels are baggage or may become baggage. She warns us to leave them behind:
Sin that have not been repented of, natural man behaviors that we aren’t ready to give up, worry, jealousy, guilt, unforgiving hearts, anger, regret, pride, resentment, the desire to retaliate, fear, and insecurity.
Sometimes we feel so overwhelmed with all the things we “have” to do. I thought about a talk in April 2014 General Conference by Sister Linda S. Reeves. She teaches us how to create a Christ centered home. She learned this powerful lesson years before:  “It is OK if the house is a mess and the children are still in their pajamas and some responsibilities are left undone. The only things that really need to be accomplished in the home are daily scripture study and prayer and weekly family home evening.” There are really only a few things that we “have” to do: Scriptures, Prayer, FHE. The other things will fall into place. There is a time and a season for all things. I am in a different season than most of you. I am able to go weekly to the temple, 10 years ago that was not an option. I was needed in the home.
We feel the pressure to grow our own wheat, harvest it, grind it, and then make our own bread.
Do genealogy.
Help at the school.
Have a spotless house.
Volunteer at the local hospital.
Clean children, who never make mistakes.
The list goes on and on.
I think December is the perfect time for us to re-evaluate our “to do list”.
Last December our family was finishing up Lisa’s mission preparation (she entered the MTC on December 18). It changed our focus from all the things we “had” to do (Christmas cards, neighbor gifts, teacher gifts, treats, baking, decorating, wrappings, buying, etc.) to what really mattered….being together as a family and thinking about the birth of our Savior. It was one of my favorite Christmas’s in a long time.
So here is the second challenge, prayerfully look at your life and see if you have baggage you are carrying around.  Let’s get rid of it. Let’s cast our burden on the Lord (Matthew 11:28-30), and ask Him to make our burdens light (Alma 33:23, Mosiah 24:14-16)