As the World Turns...: January 2009

Jeff wanted me to post my talk on here. He liked it... probably because it was all good things about him.... lol... Anywho, here it is:

We have only known each other a very short time but Jeff has taught me so much already. As I was thinking about what to talk on I kept coming across different articles among many Ensigns I flipped through and felt impressed to speak on “Becoming an Instrument in the Lord’s hands”. There are so many ways we can do this but to me nothing can give me greater joy than helping to build the Lord’s kingdom and doing so by uplifting those around me.

Luke 6:38 – “Give and it shall be given unto you… For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”

If I give unto others the same will be given to me… what a wonderful blessing that is, right? So I would ask myself, why not jump at the opportunity. When I moved down here to be with Jeff he worked part time at a Retirement Center. One night I received a call from him asking if I would help one of the blind men, Jim, there organize a few of his things the next day. Jeff told me the man would pay me to do it. I, of course told Jeff that I would. My first thought when I got off that phone was “oh great. Now I have to spend the whole morning talking to someone I don’t know and going through all of his things.” I really didn’t want to. It completely put me out of my comfort zone and I would have much rather been catching up on my scrapbooking.

How many times has this happened to one of us??? To top it off I feel guilty for even feeling that way because I know that I should be happy to help one in need. I would want the same for me right?

I did continue to help this man over the next few weeks and although he paid me for my service I found myself becoming reluctant to take his money. I began to want to help him simply to serve him. I mentioned before that Jeff has taught me so many wonderful things. In only a few short months that we have been married I have learned the true meaning of charity through him.

One day we happened to take Jim, our blind friend, to Sam’s Club. He needed to renew his membership first. So we carefully walked him up the counter and he talked to the man. As he was ringing up the cashier told him the credit card would not go through and they only accepted debit cards. Jim became frustrated and did not understand why they wouldn’t accept his card. It was then I saw my husband quickly swipe our own card through the scanner and say to Jim- Looks like your card did go through. We’re all set. I turned to my husband and smiled nodding knowing that was coming out of our own budget.

Another time I came home from work and noticed Jeff’s old truck was sitting in our neighbor’s driveway instead of our own. The truck was not running and needed to be taken to a mechanic’s shop. Jeff told me when we got home that our neighbor whom we have only said hello to a few times was having some troubles and Jeff just gave him the truck explaining it would need some repairs. I was pleased at having him help someone out but I remember in the back of my head thinking how much we could have sold it for once it was repaired to help us pay off our own debts.

Then the other day we were at the laundrymat waiting for our clothes to dry. An older woman whose teeth were all but a few missing was seen going up to 2 of the others involved in folding their clothes. She was quickly passed on by them. She came up to us and my first and very quick reply when I’m asked this question is “I don’t have any money” but before I could reply and before she could even finish what she was going to ask, my husband said “Would you like something to eat?” She quickly said yes and my husband turned to me and said he would be right back. He walked with her down the street and bought her lunch. I remember smiling as I sat there thinking how proud I was to be married to him and to be with someone who has such a clear love for others. But I won’t lie to you when the thought also crossed my mind that I had told Jeff the previous day we only had $5 left to spend for the rest of the week before we maxed the budget out.

As embarrassed as I am to admit all of this to you, it is the truth and I wonder if there are others out there who sometimes will give service to others but do so begrudgingly or with a thought in their mind that they really didn’t want to.

1 Nephi 11:23 states : – Charity is the pure love of Christ. It is the love that Christ has for the children of men and that the children of men should have for one another. It is the highest, noblest, and strongest kind of love and the most joyous to the soul.

I was lacking the blessings promised to those who give charity. I was not receiving the joy to the soul that was promised because I was not serving with the pure love of Christ. I may have been serving others or acting as an Instrument in the Lord’s hands but I was not receiving the blessings promised by doing so.

As I was flipping through a Nov 2006 issue of the Ensign I found the following story that hit home for me more than any other:

“Hero at the Grocery Store”- Written by Stephenie Myer - Yes the woman who write Twilight.

Christmas stories happen in most everyday places. I was part of one not long ago at the grocery store. I hope I never forget it, though the memory is bittersweet. I had been shopping for almost an hour by the time I got to the checkoutlines. My two youngest sons were with me, the four-year-old refusing to hold onto the cart, the two-year-old tyring to climb out of the basket and jump down to play with his brother. Both got progressively whinier and louder as I tried to keep them under control, so I was looking for the fastest lane possible. I had two choices. In the first line were three customers, and they all had just a few purchases. in the second line was only one man, a harried young father with his own crying baby, but his cart was overflowing with groceries.

I quickly looked over the three-person line again. The woman in the front was very elderly, white haired and rail thin, and her hands were shaking as she tried unsuccesfully to unlatch her big purse. In the other line, the young father was throwing hsi food onto the conveyor belt with superhuman speed. I got in line behind him.

It was the right choice. I was able to start unloading my groceries before the elderly woman was even finished paying. My four-year-old was pulling candy from the shelf, and my little one was trying to help me by lobbying cans of soup at me. I felt I couldn't get out of the store fast enough.

And then, over the sound of the store's cheery holiday music, I heard the checker in the other line talking loudly, too loudly. I glanced over as my hands kept working.

"No, I'm sorry" the checker was almost shouting at the old woman, who didn't seem to understand. "That card wont' work. You are past your limit. Do you have another way to pay?" The tiny old woman blinked at the checker with a confused expression. Not only were her hands shaking now, but her shoulders too. The teenage bagger rolled her eyes and sighed.

As I caught a soup can just before it hit my face, I thought to myself: "Boy, did I choose the right line! Those three are going to be there forever." My mood was positively smug as my checker began scanning my food.

But then the smiling woman directly in line behind the elderly lady had a different reaction. Quietly, with no fanfare, she moved to the older woman's side and ran her own credit card through the reader.

"Merry Christmas," she said softly, still smiling.

And then everyone was quiet. Even my rowdy children paused, feeling the change in the atmosphere.

It took a minute for the older woman to understand what had happened. The checker, her face thoughtful, hesitated wiht the receipt in her hand, not sure whom to give it to. The smiling woman took it and tucked it into the elderly woman's bag.

"I can't accept..." the older woman began to protest, with tears forming in her eyes.

The smiling woman interrupted her. "I can afford to do it. What I CAN'T afford is NOT to do it."

"Let me help you out," the suddenly respectful bagger insisted, taking the basket and also taking the old woman's arm, the way she might have helped her own grandmother.

I watched the checker in my line pause before she pressed the total key to dab at the corner of her eyes with a tissue.

Paying for my groceries and gathering my children, I made it out of the store before the smiling woman. I had made the right choice of lanes, it seemed.

But as I walked out into the bright Decemeber sunshine, I was not thinking about my luck but about what I could not afford.

I could not afford my current, self-absorbed frame of mind. I could not afford to have my children learn lessons of compassion from strangers. I could not afford to be so distant from the spirit of Christ at any time of the year. I could not afford to let another stranger, another brother or sister, cross my path in need of help without doing something about it. And that is why I hope never to forget the Christmas hero in the grocery store. the next time I have a chance to be that kind of here, I can't afford to miss it.

I was just like the woman who at first was thankful she did not get in the elderly woman’s line.
Moroni 7:45 – “Charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all thinks, endureth all things.

True Charity is loving others and doing things for them without any selfish thoughts or for selfish actions and in return for this we are to receive blessings.

Elder Don Clarke in the Oct 2006 General conference session stated “A person does not need to have a Church calling, or even an invitation to help.”
So how do we become instruments in the Lord’s hands???

Matthew 22:36-39 “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.” “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself”

Joseph F Smith said “Charity, or love, is the greatest principle in existence. If we can lend a helping hand to the oppressed, if we can aid those who are despondent and in sorrow, if we can uplift the condition of mankind, it our mission to do it.”

I have only had one other calling in my life before President Springer called me to be a Jr Primary Teacher. I never before realized the blessings I could receive from such a service. I have quickly realized why I have felt such joy teaching the children and being apart of their lives and to share the gospel and teachings of Christ to them. It is because I did the service as an act of true and honest charity or love. And because of this my life is full of joy when I take the time to prepare lessons for them. I am excited to see their faces every Sunday. I realize that I am acting as an Instrument in the Lord’s hands by teaching his little children and nothing gives me greater joy.

The act of charity or serving others is a sacrifice that one gives. This may not always be convenient. Elder Robert K. Dellenbach in the Oct 2002 General Conference session stated that through sacrifice we surrender our will to the Lord’s, dedicating our lives to building up His kingdom and serving His children. For those who faithfully sacrifice through an honest tithe, the Lord has promised that He will open the windows of heaven.”

I have thought about that often and know that when I have felt the greatest joy in serving is when I did so with a happy heart and without any selfish thoughts to take away the blessings and joy I would certainly receive.

I thought back to a time when I have been blessed by those who showed charity to me. A few years ago my father was in the ICU not doing well. They transferred him to a rehabilitation center after a week. My sister and I traveled down to Phoenix from SLC to visit him. I looked at him and knew that he should still be in the hospital but what did I truly know. I had no medical background. An impression quickly came to me that my Father needed a blessing. Not having lived in Phoenix I did not have a number of my father’s bishop. I, later remembered that one of my old childhood friend’s parents was in the same ward as my father. I called them and was able to get a hold of the Bishop. Only a couple hours later, two priesthood holders had come on that short notice to give my father a blessing. Shortly after that my father received a different nurse that night who sent him back to ICU.

I am so grateful to those men who showed an act of charity for someone like me, someone they didn’t know, and took the time, quickly and on short notice to give my father a blessing he so clearly needed. There are many of us who have callings in the church and show the pure of love of Christ through those duties and I am grateful for their sacrifices.

Elder Dellenbach stated that there can be no sacrifice greater than the atoning sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ. Because of His supreme offer of charity, there is no sting of death, and the grave has no victory.

Our challenge is to unselfishly sacrifice all that we have been given including our own will. To show love for another in need and uplift them is the will of our Father in Heaven.

Elder Neal A Maxwell said: “the submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. The many other things we ‘give’ … are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us.”