Ma's Place: Silly Sisters!

Boy did I make a mistake!! I talked to my sister, Peggy Barker, via Messenger chat. We have talked this way before but I was feeling particularly silly the day we talked this week, so as she was about to hang up, I put on the fire breathing dragon face filter. (I learned about this from my 3 year old granddaughter. This younger generation knows it all!) It shocked Peggy so much that she had to learn how to use the “buttons” to create different faces using the filters. I couldn’t get her to quit playing around! Silly sister!!!

Monday was fairly routine with cleaning the flat, grocery shopping and some laundry.

Tuesday was transfer planning for next week. We have 16 missionaries going home with their missions completed and 15 new missionaries coming to the mission. It takes quite a bit of logistical planning to see who needs to be picked up and dropped off over next Tuesday and Wednesday as they don’t all come or go at the same time. Some have to be at the airport as early as 5:30 A.M. and they leave and arrive at various times over the two days coming or leaving as late as 7:30 P.M. Those coming from the Northlands arrive on the bus.

We also have missionaries in the Cook Islands and Niue who come and go on Tuesday and Wednesday. More about this process in next week’s blog.

Wednesday morning we had a Family Home “Morning” with the senior couples. Because we had a zone conference in the afternoon and an evening dinner at the mission home with President and Sister Walker and President and Sister Ardern (the Seventies Pacific Area President), we got together for breakfast and put together Christmas gift bags for missionaries who don’t receive Christmas gifts from home/family. We assembled 50 bags. Someone made an anonymous donation of cash so with what the seniors donated we were able to have some nice bags for the missionaries.

Sister Lewis keeps track of all the packages that arrive and this way we know who needs a gift. We may have to make a few more bags at the last minute.

Thursday was another zone conference. Friday I went with a missionary to a doctor’s appointment.
Saturday was our Takapuna Ward Christmas party/dinner. The Primary did a Nativity performance, we sang carols, and ate a nice potluck dinner.

Someone brought these cute Christmas tree cupcakes. The tree part is made of an ice cream cone
filled with M&M’s and turned upside down on top of the cupcake. They were a hit and went FAST!!

I was asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday. The bishop gave me a scripture on which to base my talk, so I spent many hours this week pondering, reading conference talks and BYU Devotional talks and trying to organize thoughts. The scripture I was given was Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God….”

This talk is a little long, but I thought I would share it with you. I am happy to speak in church but at the same time I am more happy that it is done. Here is my talk:

From my kitchen window in Sandy, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City, I can see the Wasatch Mountain range which runs along the east side of the Salt Lake Valley. In fact I live only about a 5 minute drive to a trail that I can hike that will take me to Lone Peak, one of the more popular mountains to hike and the tallest peak on the Wasatch Front. It is a steep, rugged trail lined with sheer granite walls at the summit. It is considered by many to be the hardest 3400 meter climb in the Wasatch Range due to the mileage and elevation gain required to sit atop its summit. On a clear day you can see the peak from 160 km away.

One of my sons is an avid mountain hiker and has taken me on many trails in the mountains east of my home. With him along to guide me I think I can go most places. He has been to the top of the peak and has told me of the wonder and grandeur that can be seen from the top. You can look over the entire Salt Lake Valley and the Great Salt Lake on one side and the mountain tops, valleys and lakes of the Wasatch Mountain Range and Lone Peak Wilderness Area on the other side.

I want to see that incredible view for myself but because of the ruggedness, the distance, the elevation, the sheer cliffs, the obstacles that I will encounter, I am not yet prepared physically nor mentally for the challenge.

I want to talk today about how our journey in life is like climbing to the summit of a mountain. Our journey will be strewn with obstacles and adversity. It won’t all be easy on flat even ground.

My aim is to convince you that no matter how rocky the road ahead may look or how distant the summit may seem, your effort is worth it.

Each of us will face adversity. We elected to do this before we left our first heavenly home. We are taught in the scriptures that there “must needs be … an opposition in all things.” We will face times of difficulty, and the question is not when we will face it but how we face it.

The Apostle Paul taught an interesting lesson only a few years before the Saints in Rome were to face some of the most violent persecution of any Christian era. Paul reminded the Saints that “all things work together for good to them that love God.” Our Heavenly Father, who loves us completely and perfectly, permits us to have experiences that will allow us to develop the traits and attributes we need to become more and more Christ-like.

As we understand this doctrine, we gain greater assurance of our Father’s love. We may never know in this life why we face what we do, but we can feel confident that we can grow from the experience.

I have a dear friend who delivered a son who had difficulties entering this world. The cord was wrapped around his neck several times depriving him of oxygen which resulted in brain damage. My friend was told that her son would never be able to speak and most likely would not walk. She determined that she was going to do everything in her power to prove the doctors wrong.

She worked with him tirelessly. Prayed. Struggled. Cried. Her son, was able to learn to walk and talk but he does require some help and supervision.

My friend and her family are remarkable. I saw her struggle beyond what I think most people would be able to endure but she never gave up. Her son is in good physical health but should anything happen to my friend, there would be no one to care for him. She wrestled with this problem and together with her husband, they eventually decided to find a group home for him where he would be happy and could be cared for and watched over.

That was a most difficult decision for her to make. She felt judged by some for not keeping him in her home but she never-the-less did what she felt had to be done to prepare for the future since she wanted to make sure he would be in good hands before the necessity arose.

This story is only an example of the trials and adversity that I have seen in the lives of people around me. I am a nurse by profession and have witnessed physical and mental illnesses and the affects that it causes in lives and families.

I know without a doubt that each of us here in this room today is familiar with some type of adversity:

The death of a loved one.

Divorce.

Loss of faith.

Perhaps never having the opportunity to marry or to have children.

Serious physical or mental illness or injury.

The little or not so little trials of daily life such as work or loss of work.

School.

And even natural disasters, as we have recently witnessed around the world and most recently here in New Zealand with the eruption of the volcano close to us.

And the list goes on. Although each challenge may be unique to our individual circumstances, there is a common element in the resulting trial or challenge—hope and peace are always available through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The Atonement of Jesus Christ provides the ultimate corrective and healing measures to every wounded body, damaged spirit, and broken heart.

I realize that it is much easier to look back when a trial is over and see what we have learned from our experience, but the challenge is to gain that eternal perspective while we are going through our test. To some, our trials may not seem great, but to each of us who is passing through these experiences, the trials are real and require us to humble ourselves before God and to learn from Him.

My husband suffered through several years of pain resulting from cancer that eventually took his life. As he became more and more debilitated, my heart suffered as I watched him grow weaker and unable to do the things that he loved to do and had planned to do. That last year was really hard. The morning that he passed, I sat at his bed side holding his hand and thinking to myself: What do I do now? How do I get through these next years until we meet again? What about all of our plans to serve missions? To travel? To spend time with our grandchildren?

I testify to you that it is through the love of my Savior, the knowledge of the Plan of Happiness and that knowing that we are an eternal companionship that I can find joy in this life until I am with him again.

President Boyd K. Packer taught: “The mercy and grace of Jesus Christ are not limited to those who commit sins … , but they encompass the promise of everlasting peace to all who will accept and follow Him. … His mercy is the mighty healer, even to the wounded innocent.”

In this mortal experience, we cannot control all that happens to us, but we have absolute control over how we respond to the changes in our lives.

In these latter days, the Lord has provided us with numerous resources all of which are designed to help us look to Christ and place our trust in Him. Dealing with the challenges of life is not about ignoring reality but rather about where we choose to focus and the foundation upon which we choose to build.

These resources include, but are not limited to:

Regular study of the scriptures and the teachings of living prophets.

Frequent, sincere prayer and fasting.

Worthily partaking of the sacrament.

Regular temple attendance.

Service.

Priesthood blessings.

Wise counseling through trained professionals.

Medication, when properly prescribed and used as authorized.

Whatever change in life’s circumstance may come our way, and whatever unexpected path we may have to travel, how we respond is a choice. Turning to the Savior and grasping His outstretched arm is always our best option.

I referred earlier to a scripture in Romans chapter 8. I would add two more verses:

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God….

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Referring to back to the beginning of my talk, I want to see the summit of Lone Peak. If I prepare myself physically and mentally, I will be able to meet the challenges of the trail and journey to the top of Lone Peak but I know that even with all of the preparation and training I can do, I would not be able to do it without the assistance and knowledge of my son, the experienced hiker, who has traveled the path before.

So it is with life’s journey, no matter how confident we are, how much we know or think we know, we cannot make it to the summit of our existence without the love and help of our Savior.

Presdient Oaks: “Nothing is impossible to those who keep God’s commandments and follow his directions. But the blessings that carry us over obstacles do not precede our efforts; they follow them. . . .

What do we do when we face obstacles in the ¬fulfillment of righteous responsibilities? We reach out and climb! The blessings that solve problems and carry us over obstacles come to persons who are on the move.”

I want to urge you onward and upward in your journey, because I promise you that, wherever you are on the path, what awaits you at the summit is—in the words of Joseph Smith—a view that is “glorious beyond description”

I want to add that as we celebrate the Savior’s birth, remember also that without Gethsemane and Easter, there would be no need to celebrate the Savior’s birth. It would just be another baby born to the world.

Celebrate His life and your life and the gifts brought to you by the Savior. I testify that our Savior lives and loves us. He is there if you just reach out to him.