Carin Best Day

 Two weeks ago, Wade Wiberg spoke in sacrament meeting.  He gave a beautiful talk.  One thing that he said really struck me and I keep thinking about it. Nearly three years ago, his wife died unexpectedly.  It was heartbreaking for all of us...but most especially for him and his seven children.  He said that not long after her death, he was feeling really discouraged and overwhelmed.  Suddenly, he realized that it was likely that the absolute worst day of his life was likely the very best day of hers as she was welcomed back into the Savior's presence.  That hasn't made everything easy or even always better, but that perspective has helped.  

LESSONS LEARNED:  Maybe, just maybe, when someone we love dies...our worst day is their best day!

Breathe in Peace

 Today was a yucky day.  Faculty meeting often makes me crazy.  And today was no different.  And then after faculty meeting, I saw a bit of the news and this country has gone crazy.  People stormed the capital to protest the election results.  I just felt deflated and tired and even fearful.  I prayed for peace.  I prayed to have greater faith.  I have been using a mindfulness app called Refill My Soul.  It is an LDS app and incorporates scripture and words from conference talks into the meditation.  It is very soothing and calming to me.  This evening I turned on a meditation based on Elder Holland's general conference talk.  It said to breathe in greater faith and breathe out fear and worry. It sounds too simple...and maybe even a little bit silly...but I felt my body relax and peace enter my heart and my worries slip farther away.  It wasn't a coincidence.  It was an answer to prayer.  Now it didn't make things at school better and it didn't eliminate the craziness of the world...but it made my heart better.  And it was an answer to prayer.  God is mindful of us and He is good!  I love Him.

LESSONS LEARNED:

Prayers are answered.

Mindfulness is good for us and can legitimately help when we are anxious or worried or sad.

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:26–27).

As Bright as Heaven Part 2

 Spoiler alert!!  The mom in the book dies from the Spanish influenza.

There's a chapter, told from her POV, as she is dying.  I think it is SO beautiful.  This is found on pages 182-183. 

She says:

I had no idea the gap between earth and heaven is narrow, no wider than a jump over a brook.  I'd always thought heaven was so far from the living, no one could measure its distance from the earth.  Even the wisest person ever born couldn't look up at the night sky through the most powerful telescope and catch a glimpse of heaven--it was that far off.

That was the only part of knowing there is a heaven that used to frighten me-how far away it was.  And when Henry (her young son) died, that was what pained me the most.  ...

All this time my companion (Death) has been trying to show me that the space between the two worlds is not so vast.  Heaven is just on the other side of waking.

Death is not our foe.  There is no foe.  There is only the stunningly fragile human body, a holy creation capable of loving with such astonishing strength but which is weak to the curses of a fallen world.  It is the frailty of flesh and blood that causes us to succumb to forces greater than ourselves.  We are like butterflies, delicate and wonderful, here on earth for only a brilliant moment and then away we fly.  Death is appointed merely to close the door to our suffering and open wide the gate to Paradise.  If we were made of stone or iron, we would be impervious to disease and injury and disaster, but then we could not give love and receive love, could w?  We'd be unable to feel anything at all, and surely incapable of spreading our wings and flying...

 Henry is near to me now.  I can feel the canopy lifting, and I am not afraid.  If I were orchestrating the events, I would have us all be together at this moment I join my baby boy. But I shall fly ahead of Thomas and the girls, just as Henry did, and I know with all my heart that we shall be together again.  Perhaps on that fine day it will even seem that we've drifted heavenward only moments apart from one another, not years or decades...

...you all have the love that I leave here for each one of you.  It is spilling out of me even at this moment and finding its way to you all. 

Isn't this so beautiful?  Death isn't the enemy.  And we ARE near to those who have gone on before us and we WILL see them again.  I love that these aren't just nice words in a book but actual truth, beautifully expressed.  I know they are true and they are true because of Christ. 

 

 

      

As Bright as Heaven

 I just finished reading a book entitled As Bright as Heaven.  It is historical fiction, set between 1918 and 1926.  The family lives with an uncle who is a mortician and half of the house is the funeral home.  The mother reads a book about customs for burial.

"I learned that in every culture in human history, the living have treated their dead with honor and respect, some even with adoration.  There is something sacred about the body when the soul has left it, no matter which corner of the globe or how far back you look."

"You'd think the opposite would be true, that this tent of flesh, which starts to decompose within hours of the soul leaving it, would immediately be cast aside as worthless.  Instead, our mortal remains are given more reverence after Deaths' visit than even before it.

"It's as if the body is a candle and the soul is its flame.  When the flame is snuffed out, all that is left to prove that there had been a flame is the candle and even that we only have for a little while.  Even the candle is not ours to keep.

And yet how we care for that candle for that stretch of time that is still ours!  How we want to remember the shape and fragrance of the little flame it held."

I've thought a lot about that.  First, why do we reverence the dead when we often ignore or revile or judge or harm the living? 

And as individuals... Why don't we recognize that while the candle is of value, the flame has the greatest value?  Do most of us put as much time and effort into caring for our "flame" ...into learning and growing and making our souls beautiful...as we do into our physical bodies?  I am not saying we shouldn't care for our bodies...just that we should also care for our souls and strive to make them beautiful.

Polly New Year's Dinner

Tonight we had a "Culture Night" over Zoom for our school.  There wasn't a big turnout which was too bad (though after spending 6 hours on zoom a day, I am sure many students/families don't want to get back on Zoom in the evening.)  But it was so neat to hear about several families' traditions.

I especially loved my librarian's tradition.  Polly has an annual New Year's Dinner for her family.  Each year a book is chosen to be the theme for the dinner and they wear costumes and have a fancy menu.  She adds photos to the menu to remember each year's theme.  For example, a couple of years ago they had a Lord of the Rings Dinner where they had breakfast, second breakfast or elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner and supper.   They have games or activities that tie in with the book and it sounds like a really fun way to ring in the New Year.

This sounds like a tradition I would like to start when I have grandkids.  It wouldn't necessarily have to be a New Year's Eve tradition, but I love the idea of an annual luncheon or dinner based around a beloved book.  Seriously, such a fun idea.

Lessons Learned:  I love hearing about traditions and this is such a fun tradition to combine books with food and fun and family.  I hope I refer back to this at some point and begin this tradition.

Mike's Grandma Shoes

 My dear stepdad Mike shared this story:

One day in my American Government class in my senior year of high school, my teacher Mr. Robert Smith asked me to stay after class. Oh man, what did I do now?

Alone in class he asked if I was Frances Graves' grandson. I told him that I was. He asked, "Did your grandmother ever say anything to you about me?" No sir, why?

His reply told me a great deal about my grandmother. Mr. Smith came from a very poor family. He and his siblings went to school either in their bare feet or in shoes that were worn out. He had several siblings. Anyhow, he told me that one day my grandmother showed up with shoes for all of the children, and he never forgot her kindness. This was in the 1930's-1040's and times were tough. Don't know how Grandma could afford it. I know Grandpa helped.

Grandma was a school teacher for close to 40 years, and Mr. Smith had been one of her students.

God Knows Service

 About a month ago I was at Seagull Book and they had a  bunch of books on clearance.  Several of them looked good so I picked a couple of them up.  And since I have been busy, they have just been sitting in that bag.  Laurel, Jackie, Sara and I are trying to serve every woman in our ward anonymously...just dropping off a treat or small bag of goodies for a couple of women each during each week.  I had been feeling like I should drop something off to Annie and another sister.  But then a prompting came to include another woman in the ward as well.  And I really only had stuff for 2 people not three.  Then I thought of those books I bought and went to see what I had purchased.  One of them sounded like it might be a good fit for Annie.  So I tossed it in a bag with a small candle and a little (typed) note and dropped it at her doorstep.  Later that day I saw this message on Annie's story on Instagram.

Heavenly Father is so amazing.  I bought the book a month ago.  I planned to keep it.  I planned to give Annie some treats.  But the Lord had other plans.  I think that reaching out in any way might have been a blessing for Annie. I think we can all use the reminder that we are loved and noticed and thought about.  But I think that this gift was more meaningful and much better than the plans I had.  I'm so glad that I had the prompting to give a gift to another sister which meant I had to think of something new to give Annie.  I'm so grateful for the thought (which didn't really feel like a prompting...but I'm sure now it was) to see if I could give her one of the books I had purchased.  The Lord orchestrated it all.  He is so good.

LESSONS LEARNED:  God is orchestrating the details of our lives.

He knows what those around us need if only we take time to listen and to act.

I'm grateful for authors who know how to articulate spiritual matters in a way that touches hearts and answers prayers.