Compensatory Blessings

 

Is it Christmas yet?  We got this little fellow three weeks ago, just before the lockdown.  He has been chomping at the bit to get Christmas going.  I put him out today, and will rummage through the bin of Christmas decorations for his brother - who wears red, an acquisition from last year.

It rained all day.  Not a pouring down kind of rain, but a pleasant, steady pitter-patter paired with grayed skies that make you feel like you should be indoors cuddled up with a good book.  I kept meaning to get back to "The Annotated Sense and Sensibility" all day, but never quite made it.

Grace, a member for less than a year had a lesson today with the elders.  Elder Akuoku and Elder Watford contacted us to see if we could sit in the discussion.  Of course it was on Zoom, and we were happy to comply.

With family pressure and with the virus, she has kind of dropped out of sight.  But when Elder Akuoku arrived, he set about to help her back into activity.  Both Elder Akuoku and Grace are originally from Ghana, and I think that has been very meaningful for Grace.  It strikes me how kind the Lord is.  I think it means a great deal to be taught by her fellow countryman.

I'll be honest, I've never been more impressed with 19-year olds than when I see them serving diligently.  I know there are missionaries who just don't do much at all...who are in fact goofballs, but the missionaries  that we are associated with - have been overwhelmingly good young people.  And they are persistent in trying to carry out their prime directive, which they recite frequently.  "In the England London Mission, we follow Christ.  Our privilege is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end." There are two more paragraphs, but I love to hear them say it.

I reached out to several YSAs via social media today, and I took another sack of YSA videos and games plus some lemon bars to a new family.  I took them some things last week.  Another 3 days and they will be out of isolation, but not out of lockdown.  What a time to come to a new country.  They took my picture "for their story" and I took theirs - for mine!

The lemon bars I took are labor intensive...probably not for Melissa, but for me yes.  You make the shortbread crust and then refrigerate it for 30 minutes before baking.  While it's baking, you zest and juice the lemons (4-5) and make lemon curd, stirring it over the stove for 5 - 10 minutes.  Then you spread it on the hot shortbread and bake for 20 minutes.  It's not so much a lot of work, as a lot of time.  

But it is soooo good.  An hour and a half, 9 eggs, 5 lemons and everything else, and you have an 8 X 8 pan full of lusciousness.  It's worth it, and I try to make sure to give most of it away, lest even the walking doesn't save me from splitting out all my clothes.

I heard from Ally.  It sounds like she has received a lot of love and support.  That warms my soul.  That will help ease her through this terrible time.  Knowing people love and care, and are sending prayers heavenward on your behalf  - just has to give her some grounding and strength.  

Our Saturday night mission conference call ended our day.  Our speaker was the stake president in Canterbury - Canterbury!!!!  Who would ever think there was a state president, much less a stake in Canterbury.  He was eloquent.  He talked about a Greek word in the New Testament - Anamnesis, which simply means "to call to mind."  

But as may have guessed, he went into much greater detail about the better word "Remembrance." I wrote notes furiously, so I will condense it way down to this.  By remembering actively and deeply how the Lord has touched our lives will change our perspective.  He asked us to ponder three questions:

1.   What is your earliest memory and how has it formed you?

2.   What do you consider the three most important, most formative experiences in your life, and how have they impacted your life?

3.   What is the most recent profound experience in your life?

He ended by saying, "Remember your conversion story, remember the blessings in your life, remember that you have a purpose and you have been given experiences to prepare you to fulfill that purpose."

That is a very short version of a truly inspired and inspiring talk.  I will mull it over as I go to sleep.  

These kinds of experiences - spiritually uplifting - spurring us to want to do more and to be better happen several times a week.  What a blessing - in the middle of a lockdown!