When I was nine years old, I began cleaning my grandmother’s house. I would go over about once a week after school and do whatever she instructed me to do. The best part was after I was done cleaning, she would invite me into the kitchen to have a root bear float with her. We would sit in her little kitchen nook and visit while we sipped. Oh, how I loved this time with Grandma! 

Three years later, when I was twelve years of age, Grandma was sent to the hospital. I didn’t worry to much about it, I just thought that is what old people had to do from time to time. 

When the day I normally went to clean house rolled around, I knew Grandma wasn’t there to tell me what to do, so I had thought I wouldn’t go. But I received a very distinct impression that I should go anyway, so I did. Without Grandma there to tell what to do, I had to decide on my own. I concluded that the whole house needed a good cleaning. With no one there to stop me and say that’s enough, I just kept going and going and spent hours cleaning. The house had never looked so clean!

I remember how wonderful I felt. It was so much fun to be giving Grandma a secret gift. I thought boy is Grandma going to be surprised! I couldn’t wait for her to come home and see my gift of love. But Grandma never came home from the hospital. 

Interestingly, the family decided to have her viewing in her home. As I walked into her living room and saw grandma, I can’t even begin to express the peace and joy I felt! I realized the Spirit had prompted me to clean Grandma’s house, knowing it was a holy place where her body would be viewed by loved ones. No one knew that but God. I felt such joy knowing the Spirit of the Lord had spoken to me and used me, a young girl, as an instrument in his hands. 

And my joy was so great because I felt grandma right there with me. I knew she loved me and I felt her appreciation for getting the house clean in preparation for her viewing. Though she did not see my gift with her mortal eyes, I knew that she had seen my gift after all, through the eyes of her spirit, and she wanted me to know this. I also felt the Holy Spirit bear witness that I would see Grandma again because of the Savior’s gift of resurrection.

Decades have passed, and yet I still remember the joy I felt that day. I know there is life after death. I know that in and through and because of Jesus Christ we will see our loved ones again, and I know the Holy Spirit can speak to us, and use us as instruments in Gods hands, if we are willing, no matter what our age. 

I went in to discuss the matter with his teacher and to see what I could do, to help our son take responsibility for whatever had gone wrong. The visit with his teacher went well, and I was given simple things our son could do to improve. 

Later that week, I was contacted my another mother informing me that a bunch of parents had arranged a meeting the following Monday night to get this teacher fired. The parents didn’t like the fact that their children were getting so many pink slips. I was shocked and saddened that others had judged this teacher so harshly. I felt the way things were being handled by the parents was not right. So I met with the principal to discuss how I saw the situation, which was

1. There is a line of authority that should be followed when solving problems. If parents had a concern with how a teacher was handling a situation, they should discuss it with the teacher directly, not with other parents. 

2. If things could not be resolved by meeting with the teacher, then they could bring the concern to the principal, not to other people.

I then asked him as our leader if he felt it appropriate to teach the parents these principles and to look for ways to help this brand new teacher succeed?

The principal asked,“Where did you learn this? I said, “In the New Testament. The Savior taught that we should go to the person we have a concern with.” He replied, “I wish everyone could understand this.” He then assured me that he would teach the parents this preferred way of resolving concerns. 

The night of the firing meeting, we invited our son’s teacher to dinner and family night. I was worried about her being all alone the night the parents were meeting with the principal with the intent to get her fired.

As we ministered to her that evening, we discovered it was her birthday! She was new to the city and had no friends or family around and was all alone. As she shared her story, I felt a bucket of God’s love pour over me! It was as though God was saying, “Thank you for watching over my dear daughter tonight.” 

Thank heaven for the teachings of Jesus. God’s ways are higher than our ways and I have found they always make us happier. Incidentally, the teacher was not fired. Thankfully, the parents decided to work to help her succeed.

One day last week I ran out the door to go for a run and had forgotten to take my face mask. It was 19 degrees and my face soon became icy cold. After about 15 minutes, I turned a corner and was facing east. The sun was just starting to rise above the mountain. The light of the sun’s rays streamed down upon my face, filling it with warmth. It felt so good!

As I ran on, I noticed there were patches of ice and snow on the road that had not yet melted. Obstacles had created shade through which the sun could not penetrate. I had to stop running and tread slowly through these patches to avoid slipping and falling. 

I thought how often life is like that run. When adversity strikes, it can chill our hearts. Nevertheless, If we can turn and face Christ, His light warms us as the frost from a difficult world melts.  

I have found that I need Christ’s light to warm me everyday, or a chill can come on. I need Him as the bookends of my day—I need to invite His light through the study of His words at the start of the day and at the end of the day.

However, turning our faces to Christ so we can feel the light, is sometimes not enough. There are often obstacles in our lives that are creating shade and blocking Christ’s light from coming through. We have to be humble enough to see them as wedges between us and Christ, and be willing to remove them with the help of His grace.

I have come to know that Jesus Christ is the Light of the world. When my heart is chilled with worry or fear, His light breaks through and warms my soul with comfort and hope. When the choices of others injure, His light envelops me with the strength to be kind and forgiving. When I feel inadequate, His light fills me up with whatever I am lacking. I have found I have to do my part to turn and face Him, or I can’t feel the warmth of His light. 

Every day we need the light of Christ to brighten up our lives. As we celebrate His birth, He should be the light of our Christmas celebration. That Light rejuvenates and inspires us to be bearers of that warmth and illumination throughout the year. Sometimes, Christ is forgotten in our celebrations. How must He feel?

What if your loved ones had planned a magnificent birthday party for you. They decorated the whole house inside and out with beautiful festive decorations; bought lots of awesome gifts; prepared scrumptious foods to eat; and then invited the whole extended family to join in the festivities of your birthday, but forgot to invite you. What if the whole family—all who profess to love you—went on partying for days without even thinking of you. How would you feel? 

So it is, I think, for the Savior. Christmas is His birthday and yet, at times, He isn’t even invited to the celebration. He is passed over and forgotten.

I invite each of us to let the Savior into our homes today and every day. Think about Him,  worship him and reflect on how His light warms your hearts and lights up your world. 

#LightTheWorld #givethanks #comeuntochrist

Whenever I think of the story of the good samaritan, I am reminded of a dear neighbor, Bob Boice. He was a happy, cheerful man who was always on the lookout for ways to serve others. His service came to bless us just a few months after we moved form Pennsylvania to Rexburg, Idaho. We had not been able to sell our home in Pennsylvania, and were feeling heavy financial stress with two mortgages. When winter suddenly came upon us, we discovered we were in a predicament. They get lots of snow in Rexburg and where we lived, the wind would blow across the farm lands and create large drifts. Our home was positioned at the bottom of two hills. We only had one vehicle—a full-sized rear-wheel drive van. Without front wheel drive or a four wheel drive vehicle, it was impossible to get up either hill. Unfortunately, it was out of the question for us to purchase another car until after we had sold our home in PA. 

How the good samaritan knew of our plight, I don’t know. But, one day he drove up with a front wheel drive car and said we could borrow it for as long as we needed it! He claimed it was old and that he didn’t need it. I’m not sure if that was actually true, but he did all he could to help alleviate any self-consciousness we might feel in borrowing it.

Christmas came early that year, not with presents under the tree, but with a miracle. The Lord does not always answer our prayers the way we might like. We were praying that our home could sell. It took almost ten months for that to happen. Nevertheless, the Lord takes care of His covenant people. He provided a way for us to get by until the day of our deliverance. He sent an earthly angel who was listening to the promptings of the Spirit and was the source of an early Christmas in the Brooks’ home.

#lLightTheWorld #givethanks

You may have heard the old Yiddish proverb, “We plan. God laughs!” You would have heard it because our plans do not always turn out the way we had anticipated. This was never more true than what happened to the group we now call “The Pilgrims.” 

In the month of November, we look forward to the Thanksgiving holiday with family and feasting. Most know to equate it with that group that celebrated the “First Thanksgiving” in the New World in November of 1621. Most know there had been hardship before this event, but few realize the hardships after and what all of those hardships were and how important they were to the eventual founding of our county. 

To understand the whole story, we have to step back even farther in history than the 400 years 2020 celebrates as the 400th anniversary of the now famous trip of the Mayflower in 1620. 

In and around the time of the Reformation in Europe, many countries had pockets of people who were determined to know what God wanted them to do. England was no different and there was much unrest because the corrupt state Church was able to have enough influence to have laws enacted preventing people from reading the Bible and therefore learning just how corrupt that body had become. Some in England became known as the “Puritans” because they had thought that they could “purify” the church. When that proved impossible, they determined they would separate themselves, thus becoming known as “Separatists.” This would prove to be a daunting task because in addition to being illegal to read or possess any part of the Bible, it was also illegal to move away from England! In order to do so, they would have to find a ship’s captain willing to break the law to them leave. They determined to go to Holland, a country that did tolerate freedom of conscience. The stories of how over 300 of these dedicated Christians ended up in Leiden, Holland will have to be told another time. 

Nevertheless, in the first decade of 1600 these religious Englishmen started to make their way to this other country, beset with a host of difficulties including learning a new language, having trouble with gainful employment because of the guild system, and dealing with a new culture. Yes, they could worship as they felt necessary, but over the years, their children began taking on the beliefs of the Dutch, tolerating any religious belief or non-belief, and losing their English heritage which was also important to them. Their sacrifices for freedom of conscience were being lost on the rising generation. 

Therefore, with all the known hardships of starting a colony in the New World, this possibility was very attractive to them. Because they had few resources, they contracted with one of several merchant groups in England to support their venture and after much discussion eventually agreed on the terms and that they would repay their debt in seven years. In July, a group set off from Holland in their ill-fated ship, the Speedwell, and they met up with their fellow travelers who set sail from London on the Mayflower. 

After loading up the supplies and provisions they needed in South Hampton, the two ships set sail on what they expected would be a one month voyage to their destination in the English colony of Virginia, an area MUCH larger than the state that bears that name today. 

To this point, things had gone pretty much according to “plan.” However, soon things started to change. It was not too long until it became apparent that the Speedwell was taking on water and would not be wise to continue without repairs. Therefore, both ships returned to take care of that problem. After that setback, they set out again, hopeful that there would be no other mishaps. This was not to be, as they discovered after several days at sea that the Speedwell was once again leaking profusely and would not be able to cross the Atlantic. 

Returning to Plymouth, the group had to ascertain who and what would continue on the Mayflower and who would need to stay behind and come later. One hundred and two passengers, half seeking religious freedom and half seeking economic opportunity, eventually started, for the third time, to cross the Atlantic, in the month of September. The wind and current of the ocean that would have taken them to Virginia now took them to the rocky shores of New England, not in the anticipated month, but in 66 often stormy days! Sighting land on November 9, they realized they were not in Virginia! Because of the design of the ship, it was impossible to fight the wind and sail south. They would have to stay where they were and do the best they could. 

Because they were not in Virginia, there was no established government, and it soon was apparent that they would need to find a way to govern themselves. After much deliberation and sometimes heated discussion, they agreed to the document we now call the Mayflower Compact, affirming allegiance to the king, recognizing their dependence on and obligation to God, and agreement to whatsoever rules should be decided on for the good of the colony. This was signed by the heads of all families. On November 11, the Mayflower dropped anchor and life in the New World began. 

That first winter was fraught with difficulties. They were low on provisions. If they ate their crop seeds, they would have nothing to plant. They were not prepared for the harsh winter. The men had to build housing regardless of the snow and cold. At least some of the water must have been contaminated, and the remaining supply of beer was needed to take the sailors back to England. Nearly half of both passengers and crew perished because of these hardships. When the captain, Christopher Jones, set sail for England in April, none of his passengers cared to return, and one of his crew, John Alden, chose to stay. 

Soon after they were left on their own, a native American, Samoset, approached their compound and astounded them by addressing them in ENGLISH! As an uncharacteristically friendly, as well as curious, Indian, he had learned English from the fishermen who had crossed the Atlantic to take advantage of the bountiful fishing off the shores of New England. He stayed with them for 2 days, enjoying the hospitality of the Pilgrims who worried about their fast disappearing provisions, not wanting possible enemies to know of their vulnerability. When they finally were able to send him on his way, he announced that he had a friend that spoke even better English than he did! 

Shortly thereafter, Squanto was introduced to the worried group. However, rather than being “just another mouth to feed” he became the one to save them in more than one way. Squanto’s hardships became their blessings. Just what hardships had Squanto endured? He had been kidnapped as a youngster, taken to England where he learned two valuable things: This is where he learned to speak English as well as discovered the fact that all Englishmen were not kidnappers! Actually, there were many very good Englishmen. After several years in England, he was able to return to his native shores, reunite with family and friends, only to be kidnapped again…this time by the Spanish who took him as well as others with the intent of selling them as slaves! (Not an uncommon practice at the time, world wide!) Miraculously, he made his way back to England where he once again was able to return home. This time, he was not met by family, but by devastation. His entire tribe had been wiped out by a terrible, unknown plague. Fortunately, Samoset found and befriended him or he very well would have been enslaved, tortured or killed by any of the hostile tribes in the area. 

Because he saw these Englishmen were good, he was able to share with them the food his tribe had stashed away, taking some of the seed to teach them how to plant in this unanticipated environment. As it turned out, for whatever reason, the seed the Pilgrims had brought did not thrive, but as Squanto taught them, the three sisters, (corn, beans and squash left by the Pautuxet tribe) with a fish for fertilizer, grew well. 

It was evident that God had miraculously prepared this place for them and they did celebrate with much thanksgiving the first harvest with their native friends. However, they had one more important lesson to learn in this experience. You will recall that they agreed to repay the debt incurred to travel and start their colony in seven years. They had also agreed to live in a particular way that those merchants had insisted: to all work hard and to share what was produced equally. Today we would call that way of life socialism. At that time, it had no name. It was only an experiment required by the merchants. They tried for two years and for two years they were barely able to produce enough to take them through the winter and plant again in the spring. You may ask why this was so. Your answer would be that human nature was stronger than the theory. Sadly, those who really did not want to work hard saw that they could avoid doing so and still get an equal share. In this way they took advantage of the others by feigning 

injury or illness. Then, those who were willing to work hard but saw able bodied neighbors not doing all they could, they themselves were unwilling to work to support the slackers! 

William Bradford, the second elected governor of the colony who kept a very good diary or journal of the history of these pilgrims, was reading in II Thessalonians where it said “He who does not work shall not eat.” With this scripture as his guide, he arranged the third planting season in a completely different way. Now each family would have their own parcel of land, receive the seed needed to plant, and would grow what they would eat! Any extra would be used as they saw fit. This changed the whole outlook of the colony. EVERY person became VERY industrious. They planted three times as much seed as any previous year and had such a bountiful harvest that they were able to pay their debt that year! Not seven, and really not even three, because in the previous two they had not had sufficient to spare. This way of living we now call the “free market system,” where people can realize the blessing of their own work to prosper their lives and will therefore work diligently to achieve what they can do for themselves and then have bounty to share. 

This lesson gave the people in the New World the third important part of what would be needed to build the land of liberty and prosperity we now know as America, and more especially, the United States of America, with three of the most important pillars of our beloved nation: Freedom of religion (conscience), self government, and the free enterprise system. 

As I write this, all three of these are under attack in our nation as the rising generation (as it was in Holland) does not understand what they have, what blessings have been theirs. It is just “what is” and for some reason they do not see it compared to what the rest of the world has had to deal with for eons…mostly tyranny and poverty. They compare it to what they envision as perfection, not realizing such a thing is unattainable because human nature is imperfect. 

This Thanksgiving it would be good to recognize the ways that America has blessed the whole world with the innovations that have changed our lives in ways the Pilgrims could not have imagined, and without the unforeseen changes to their plans, things ostensibly would have been very different. But God had a plan, and things were put in place to allow for these brave souls to eventually prosper in an unintended land and learn the lessons that would eventually improve lives around the world. 

Perhaps it is true that when “We plan, God laughs,” but certainly it must be true that when we not only overcome our trials (the reason God may have laughed at our plans,) but learn and innovate, God smiles. 

#givethanks, #comeuntochrist, #thanksgiving, #pilgrims,

Why does God sometimes answer our prayers quickly and other times, slowly? 

I have been pondering that question, as my community escaped a wildfire. 

Straight east from my home, there is a beautiful mountain that rises majestically over our little community with a charming reservoir lying below. A week ago this mountain stood proud with its lovely greenery reaching for the sky, with no concerns other than changing her colors in response to the gentle whisperings of Autumn in the air. Now, she stands black and smoldering. 

The night of the fire, severe winds caused the fire to spread quickly covering a 1,000 acres within an hour and grounded most of the aerial firefighting efforts. Things looked bad. However, to the credit of the people in my small community, many prayed with all their hearts for God’s deliverance. Their prayers were heard and answered almost immediately. The winds stopped and the heavens opened up with rain. It was a miracle. We hadn’t had rain in months! 

My question was why does God sometimes answer our prayers quickly, as in this case and other times slowly? 

I don’t have all the answers to that question, but let me share a couple of things I have learned about prayer.

Timing

I know God loves us and always wants to bless us. Sometimes, the blessings we are praying for don’t come because the Lord’s timing is different from ours. I have learned that He wants to bless us when the blessing will bless us the most and that is often at a time different from our desires. 

Things we must learn

Often, there are things we need to learn before the Lord can grant the righteous desires of our hearts. I find it helps to remember this and ask  Lord what do I need to learn? Or what would you have me work on next?

I know if I am prideful and unteachable, the Lord will be slow to hear my cry and answer my prayers. Choosing to allow the Lord to instruct us on a daily basis makes us happy and fills us with peace, even when things seem to be going wrong around us. 

Not His will

Occasionally we find ourselves asking for something that is not in accordance with God’s will. I have found it is hard to let go of the outcome we desire and trust in the Lord. Do I have the faith to let a mountain remain when what I want is for it to be removed? 

I have found this kind of faith is a lot harder than the faith to move the mountain. In those moments, when I don’t want to let go of my will, I try to remember the Savior and how He wished that His cup could pass from Him, nevertheless, He submitted to the will of His Father and suffered for our sakes.  Where would we all be if the Savior had not submitted to the Father’s will? Where will I end up if I don’t submit too God’s will? 

Understanding the character of God has helped me trust Him and to be more willing to surrender my will to His. I know God is perfectly just, merciful, kind, omnipotent and omniscient. It is comforting to know He is perfect in every way. Therefore, I know that God knows what is best for me. I can trust Him.

Are we slow to remember Him? 

Sometimes God does not answer our prayers because we are slow to remember Him. This is particularly difficult to recognize in ourselves, because we are often caught up in pride. Pride causes blindness—our vision is blurred, which causes us to not see things as they really are.

Often, the only thing that awakens us from the deep sleep of pride is a figurative slap in the face.

When things go wrong in my life, I try to find the root of the problem. When I do, I am staring into the face of pride. Once again, my old foe has crept back in. I ask myself, “In what ways have I been prideful in this situation?” “In what ways could I be meek and put off my pride?” 

I have found meekness kicks pride out, and allows peace, joy and progress to return. Even if the circumstances don’t improve because of other’s use of agency, I feel at-one with God.

God honors those who honor him

I know God honors those who honor Him. He has promised us that and God keeps His promises. I find when I am quick to remember the Lord—quick to obey his commandments, express gratitude in all things, and stay close to Him through daily study and worship, He is quick to answer my prayers. I have witnessed this over and over again. 

However, if I have strayed and gotten too busy to put Him first in my daily life, He is slow to hear my prayers. It is as though my Heavenly Father is saying, “Well Camille, you have been a little slow in remembering me lately. Perhaps, I can best help you grow by being a little slow to remember you and your desires.” 

Just as a wise parent does not enable bad behavior in a child, our kind and loving Father in Heaven seeks always to help us become the best version of ourselves. Sometimes, that requires us to experience the consequences of our poor choices.

I was so touched by the example of the faithful people of my community. God answered their prayers quickly when threatened by a recent fire. I can’t help but feel He honored their desires because they had honored Him.

My hope is that each of us can be inspired to honor God, so that He might  be able to lovingly affirm, “Well done my good and faithful servant; you have remembered me, so I will remember you.”

#comeuntochrist, #prayer, #honor #timing, #remember, #fire, #pride

Have you ever needed a miracle?

I have noticed in the scriptures that each time the Savior performed a miracle, He first felt compassion for the individual.

When the two blind men begged the Lord for mercy, “Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.” (Mathew 20:34)

If we want the Savior to open a wayward child’s eyes, or raise a troublesome marriage from the dead, or bring healing to a contentious neighborhood or community, we must also have compassion for others. 

When we are wronged and feel hurt, the natural thing is to hurt back. It takes courage to pause, think and say to ourselves, I am going to choose compassion instead. Mother Teresa said, “The antidote to anger is compassion.”

Years ago I had an opportunity to put that antidote into action, to practice compassion. A neighbor came to the door with a petition she wanted me to sign regarding our children’s bus driver. She wanted to get her fired. 

The bus driver was not a particularly happy person. In fact, she was quite grumpy. Most of the children on the bus did not like her. Things escalated when some of the boys were disrespectful to her. She became upset and kicked the boys off the bus. That infuriated their parents. Their solution was to get her fired. 

With several children of my own riding the same bus, I also had concerns. However, I did not feel signing a petition to get her fired was the right answer. I declined to sign it. 

I decided to exercise compassion for them. I called the school superintendent and explained the whole story. I suggested there might be a better way to handle the situation. Instead of having her fired, I asked if he would consider teaching her how to be a “good” bus driver. Perhaps she knew no other way to respond except with anger and harshness.

When my children got home from school that day I explained a little of the situation and suggested we think of ways we could show love to the bus driver. I felt the best way to kill an enemy was by loving them to death. I encouraged the children to look for the good, to find any act of kindness shown by the bus driver. 

As we brainstormed we realized that, during the coldest parts of the winter, she had picked up our children at our house instead of making them wait at the freezing cold bus stop. Wow, that was really kind! 

We wrote the bus driver a thank-you note identifying all the kind things we could think of and took it to her with some banana bread. I asked my children to smile and say hi and thank you to her and to look for the good each day they rode the bus. We prayed for her and believed that good things would come of our simple efforts. 

Our family got to witness a miracle! The bus driver transformed into the happiest, kindest bus driver my children ever had! In time, everyone in the neighborhood came to love her. The compassion and kindness shown to her was contagious. Just as the warm rays of the sun spread and reach everyone, so did acts of compassion. 

If we choose anger instead of compassion we will likely never see the miracles we are hoping for. And we all need miracles! Faith in Jesus Christ without compassion for others, is like faith without works. It is dead. Without faith and without compassion, there will be no miracles. We will be left to ourselves and our own devices to overcome our problems with others. The adversary knows this, so he strives to stir up our hearts with fear, anxiety and anger. With these negative emotions raging within us, compassion flees.

I strive to practice compassion every day. (And if I forget, I pick myself up and try again. It is a daily process, not a one time event). I find it makes me happy and solves nearly every problem I encounter. When a friend, neighbor or family member becomes snippy, I pause, and remind myself, I love them. And I know they love me, too. I can accept they are struggling and are fighting their own battles, which I may know nothing of. I then pray for them and strive to walk in their shoes and discover the underlying feelings of their behavior. I then express my love for them and show compassion for what they are feeling. The result is usually the same as the two blind men, “Immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.” 

When darkness covers the eyes of those around us, we can dispel the darkness and open their eyes with compassion, as the Savior did. Miracles do happen, but only if we exercise faith and do the works of compassion first.

My hyacinth bulbs were blooming beautifully when a late snowstorm hit. After the snow had melted, I found some of these lovely flowers flat on the ground. The weight of the snow was too much for them and they fell flat in the dirt, unable to recover. 

It caused me to wonder. Was I like these flowers? Do I sometimes break under the weight of hardship? How strong is my marriage? How strong are my children? Am I resilient when things get tough? 

When I was a child I always wanted to grow up and live in a European chalet with window boxes and hanging baskets adorning the cottage. This is because I love flowers. They fill my heart with joy and you know how picturesque a cottage arrayed with flowers is. Who wouldn’t want to live in a Thomas Kincade picture?

Well, I do not live in a quaint European chalet, but I do strive to grow beautiful window boxes and hanging baskets even though I live in a desert with no humidity, which is hard. I have found that I have to water them every 24 hours or they wilt and never recuperate. 

I have often thought how similar this is to my spirit. If I go longer than 24 hours without connecting with my Father in Heaven in prayer and scripture study I begin to wilt. I am not at peace and it is harder to see the joy in my life. If I were to continue with this neglect of my spirit, with the next storm of life, the weight of affliction could flatten me to the earth just like my hyacinths. 

I have found that daily habits of religiosity help keep me resilient when the storms of life hit. I am ready for them. Because I connect with God daily, I feel his closeness and his love. I see evidence that he is watching over me. I feel peace instead of fear, and contentment and joy instead of anxiety.

Do we not want this for our loved ones, Resiliency? Isn’t that what every parent wants? Competent, confident children who are at peace with themselves and happy and resilient no matter what life throws at them? 

Our marriages and children need the same care as my flowers to be able to stay emotionally and spiritually strong and resist wilting when life gets hard. This covid 19 experience is giving families a wonderful opportunity to spend quality time together where nurturing can occur. 

If we have not been in habits of daily worship, we can use the time we have now as individuals and as families to connect with God. Then when this virus passes and it will, we can keep the good habits we have started. Our families will remain resilient, strong and at peace when the next storm of life hits. More importantly, connecting with God each day helps us find more joy and peace in our daily lives, and who doesn’t want that?

If nothing else, this virus should have caused all of us to slow down and take a look at what is really most important in our lives. Family worship, quality time and quality conversations are to family members what water is to flowers. 

I love the symbolic message of spring— No matter how hard, how long, or how cold the winter is, I know with surety that spring will eventually follow. This gives me hope when I face my own long, dark winters—hardships of trial and sorrow that stretch my soul.

In times of sorrow, we feel like it will never end, and it is easy to become hopeless. When the adversary tempts me with such thoughts, I hold on to the memory of spring and the bulbs pushing up through the snow, to find the light. It is as though they are saying, “Goodbye, winter; it is time for you to go, you have served your purpose—you have tried my soul. Now leave me, and let spring grace this earth with her peace and beauty!”

The God of the universe brings the peace and joy of spring to this earth each year. There is nothing we can do to keep it from coming. Our adversities are much like that. They, too, are often outside of our control. The coronavirus is a current example. Only God can change our winters into spring. 

I have found personally, there is always something the Lord wants me to do or learn in my winter of affliction: a sin I need to repent of, a weakness I need to overcome, a person I need to serve, forgive, and love more deeply, or a Christlike attribute I need to develop. All these things are evidence of His love and His desire to save me—so that spring can finally come. 

This time of being hunkered down within our homes, is an opportunity to reflect, and ask “Lord, what lack I yet?”  What would He have us learn and do so that this winter of Covid 19 can end and the healing of spring can finally come? 

Whatever is wrong in our lives can be made right through the atonement of Christ, if we exercise faith in Him. He will heal us, comfort us and strengthen us to do all things that are necessary to turn things to our good—so that spring can finally come. 

It is not a coincidence that the Savior’s resurrection was in the spring! 

The promise of the resurrection is that no matter what troubles us, and is causing us a winter of affliction, we can have hope. Not only for resurrection, but healing from all our infirmities—if we come unto Christ, is the true symbolic message of spring.  

President Nelson, from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has invited the entire world to unite in fasting and prayer this Friday, April 10, known to many as Good Friday. I invite you to share this message with all you can. May we unite as worldwide children of God, in the exercise of our faith and plead for the healing that only God can bring.