1. Wasn’t the Chilean Miners’ Rescue incredible? I was in the right place at the right time to watch the rescue of the first miner and the last miner. I was moved with emotion in part by the miraculous circumstances around the rescue and also the determination and bravery of the rescuers.
When I was the age of my children I remember being told that when the Savior comes again the WHOLE world would know of His coming. My little, finite brain could not wrap understanding around that. How? In those days there was TV, but no satellite, no Google earth, no cell phones, no Internet. How could the whole world know? As I watched the proceedings of the miners’ rescue, I wondered, “Will the Lord allow man-made technology to be a part of the glory of His Second Coming? Is that a way in which the whole world will know that He is here? Or will He use His means, His power - in a way that I cannot comprehend but know is possible - to testify to the world that He is again on earth?”
2. I have contemplated much about the controversy the world has placed on President Packer’s General Conference talk. I found myself grateful to know that God does call prophets, seers and revelators on the earth today.
Anciently, servants of God have been hated, despised, ridiculed for preaching to the people of God’s law and the way to follow His law. Many prophets were stoned to death because they would not, could not take back the word of God. As I thought about the hateful rhetoric being violently cast at President Packer and ultimately the Church, what really is happening is a latter-day stoning! And instead of thinking “Shame! Shame on those people!” I look inwardly and ask myself, “What manner of a woman will I be? Will I obedient and faithful enough to be the one who'd rather be stoned than the one who casts the stones?”
3. Yesterday morning I checked out the book Driven. It is the autobiography of Larry H. Miller, known for his 42 Toyota dealerships and being the owner of the Utah Jazz. I finished the book last night. Because I couldn’t put it down. I was intrigued by his story and moved by his the things he learned from his experiences. Several things caught my attention. One was a statement made by his wife, Gail. She said of her husband, “Let me say right at the outset that, to me, Larry was not such an extraordinary person – at least, not in the beginning.”
Isn’t that what marriage and parenthood try to teach us? That somewhere, in our progression, in our learning, in our experiences with the afflictions and stresses of life, that in that somewhere we discover in those we love, the extraordinary-ness of who they really are. I believe that is one of the eternal characteristics of God – He is able to see the extraordinary in us. It is up to us to discover it. And we can do it with His help!
4. Our water heater bit the dust this week. Yup. Leaking water all over the place. So for a few hours I was left with just cold water. But when I felt the tiniest urge to complain, I reflected on how grateful early settlers were to have a water pump outside of their homes . . . and then the day the pump came inside! They were happy to have water just to boil on that pot belly stove for cooking and laundry and bathing . . . ! Of all the modernizations over the decades of American civilization, I think I am grateful for indoor plumbing the very most!!
5. Our seven year old had his tonsils removed yesterday. His was a scene scripted exactly by Bill Cosby's Tonsils!! Yes, my son was dancing around ALL week long, touting his weekend indulgence in ice cream, Jell-o and homemade slushies. Well, today was a completely different story. He didn’t even want to think about food – let alone the medicine that he had to swallow. . .
Which makes me think about how painful repentance is. Because it is. It hurts. It hurts to take out that which is infecting or causing problems and it hurts to go through the process of healing! But in the end, if it is done correctly, everything is all better. Forever. Because of the Savior and His Atonement.
Boy, this week has been a great education for me!
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