Joy in our Journey

Precious Mommy Moments Today....

While putting Emily to bed we often talk about our happy and sad parts of the day. Emily shared with me that her happy part was snuggling me right then (we sit on her blue chair in her room every night and snuggle and talk before bed...and sing, etc.). Anyways, it was sweet. And the next part made me cry. She said her sad part was nursery yesterday. She missed me. She then asked why I don't go to nursery...then she giggled and said, "You're too big!"

While tucking her in and after singing Emily the "I love you, Emily" song...Emily sung it to me and kept calling me "Moma-y" it was so sweet and funny.

I love the fact that Emily loves to go around and tell people how you spell her first and last name. Today at Library we had a really fun "Art on the Go" project. The girls made amazing pictures. Anyways, someone asked her what her name was...she told her what it is...AND how to spell it. What a smart cutie.

Oh, my beautiful Carolyn :) I am so happy for this girl and her choice to get baptized in a few weeks. Love you, Carolyn.

In Sister Burton's talk from General Woman's Meeting, she talks about becoming true disciples. She talks about a girl named Brynn. This girl only has one hand. And yet with that one hand, she reaches out to bless her friends and family. She talks about how we can know what to do to be Disciples of Jesus Christ. Sister Burton goes to to talk about the rich young man who asked Jesus what he needed to do in order to receive eternal life.

Christ tells him in Matthew 19:21

“Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”

To that scripture in Mathew 19, Sister Burton says, “Now, sisters, let’s not start beating ourselves up because the Savior spoke to the rich young man about becoming perfect. The word perfect in this account was translated from a Greek word that means “complete.” As we try our best to move forward along the covenant path, we become more complete and perfect in this life.”

As I thought about Sister Burton's thoughts of being “complete,” I thought of a recent experience I had with Carolyn:

Carolyn is getting baptized at the end of this month and wanted to sew her baptism dress with me. That task daunted me. I am not a seamtress and have a very difficult time finding joy in sewing. Furthmore, just as Sister Burton talked about Brynn only having one hand – I feel like I have that one hand as I sew. I feel that those sewing instructions are literally another language to me; I have a cheap Walmart sewing machine; and basically feel I was not blessed with a thred of skill and creativity when it comes to crafting or anything of the like. That task daunted me but I agreed and prayed for help.

The road to completion of the dress was a difficult one for me. There was literally a time in admist sewing and putting the dress together when I cried and told Carolyn I just couldn't do it. It was too hard for me. I literally had to pray for help with each step we took. I tried reminding myself throughout the process that I could find joy in the journey – it was an amazing experience with my daughter where we could talk and work towards making a dress for her very important upcoming day. I prayed for not only help with the dress but help that I could find joy in the journey of making the dress.

Perhaps you are thinking that the outcome of my story is for me to say that Caroyln and I created a beautiful and dazling dress. This is not the case. This is the completed dress (hold up the dress). It has many flaws. The shoulder seam here is already coming apart. I need to go back on the shoulder and undo the sewing. And then try to sew it together once more. Also, at one point in the sewing experience, a needle pricked my finger pretty good so I bled all over the dress. I was able to get some of the blood marks out but some of those marks still remain. I need to go back and wash those marks better. The dress is also a little crocked. And very simple looking.

However, to my daughter, Carolyn, the dress is absoluately perfect. She couldn't love it more. When she sees and wears the dress she doesn't see all the flaws and all the mistakes and the things that needs fixing – she just loves it. She wants to keep it forever. She wants to preserve it and be something she has with her to show her children and to have to always remember her special baptismal day.

To me, it reminds me so much of Sister Burton's talk of us becoming complete and a true disciple of our Savior. Before I made the dress, I prayed with my daughter that we could receive help. I needed help. And I felt His help – I needed His help to calm my fears and insecurities and my lack of skill. I also needed the Lord to send an angel to help. This friend reminds me of D&C 84:88

88 And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.

As I began the dress and literally had no clue of what to make of the instructions, my friend – in my moment of needing help and guidance from the Lord – was the angel that the Lord sent to bear me up. She helped me over the phone make sense of what I was doing. She gave me the encouragement I needed and the help I so needed to begin the daunting task for me. She was the angel the Lord sent to me in my time of need. The Lord does answer our prayers – but it is usually through someone else.

Later on in our dress-making experience, there was a moment of tears and expressing that I felt I could not complete the dress. In that moment, once I remembered to pray and to keep going – I received strength to go on. Just as my dress needed help, we need our Savior to guide us and to be with us and He can be there to help us with each step in our life.

The dress that is flawed but is perfect to my daughter reminds me so much of our lives here on earth and us becoming true disciples of our Savior. With help from Him, the dress is best I got. It's the best I can do. Just as the dress has a seam that is broken – it is like my life. There may be seams that are broken in my life. Things that I just need to go back and undo and then try again. Like the blood that is on the dress, at the end of the day – there may be things I need to go back and wash out better in my life. And just as the dress is a little crocked and very simple – my life may be simple and a little crocked – but as I ask for the Lord's help each day - as I strive to do my best to be His disciple – my life can be complete and fulfill its purpose. Just as the dress is complete and perfect in fulfilling its purpose in my daughter's eyes. I want to strive to see myself through my Savior's eyes and not my own earthly eyes. If I could see that - at the end of the day - there may be things I need to go back and undo and fix...and things that I need to wash out – I can do that. The Lord will help me. And I can be complete. I can be beautiful and fulfill my purpose through my Savior's eyes.

To end, I will quote Sister Burton:

“As true disciples, may we offer our willing hearts and our helping hands to hasten His work. It does not matter if, like Brynn, we have only one hand. It does not matter if we are not yet perfect and complete. We are devoted disciples who reach out and help each other along the way. Our sisterhood reaches across the generations to those faithful sisters who have walked before. Together, as sisters and in unity with living prophets, seers, and revelators with restored priesthood keys, we can walk as one, as disciples, as servants with willing hearts and hands to hasten the work of salvation. As we do so, we will become like the Savior.”