As I begin writing my thoughts this early morning, I'm sitting in our living room, enjoying our Christmas tree shining brightly, some presents wrapped under the tree, the lights on the mantle, Christmas Choral Classics playing on the Pandora channel and some quiet time before the rest of the world awakes. A glorious, beautiful time of the year. Crismon and I have seen the Lord's hand in our lives a number of times over the last several weeks. I feel a great desire to remember them.
The other day, we were serving in the temple. Before leaving that morning, I had pulled out the envelope in Crismon's temple suit jacket and reviewed the names we had for temple sealings to make sure we didn't have any duplicates. We had a number of names that needed sealing, but we hadn't done sealings for some time. We usually do some temple service after our Wednesday temple assignment on the midshift. Before our devotional started we talked about what we should do that day. I mentioned we had sealings to do, but didn't know that we could do it as we hadn't scheduled it ahead of time. Turns out that we could do the sealings, but to our surprise and joy we learned that it was Dennis Baird's first time, as a new sealer, to do sealings at just that same time.
Crismon had felt impressed that Bro. Baird would make a good sealer while Bro. Baird was speaking at his mother-in-laws funeral. He had called Pres. Watts, a counselor in the temple presidency and shared his impression with him. Thus, the process began in Bro. Baird being called as a sealer. He also needed to be approved by the First Presidency. Crismon didn't even know that he had been called, so this was a most wonderful surprise.
When I mentioned to Bro. Baird how nice it was to be the first ones for him to do sealings, he shared how he had felt anxious as he approached this first assignment, but when he saw Crismon come in, he knew he was being blessed and that there are no coincidences with the Lord and his timing. He did so well. It was a special time for us to share this new experience with him, as well as doing sealings for our own family names.
Another tender mercy came the day after Thanksgiving. We had talked a week earlier about having a family baptism session with Seth and Tiffany's three older boys, Jackson, Addison and Preston, and Ondalynn and Gary, Sydney and Julia. No one had gotten around to schedule a time for the day after Thanksgiving. Finally Dad called the temple, and there were only a few openings, for very early morning, or 5 pm that day. Seth's family were hoping for an early appointment that afternoon, but decided to go ahead with the 5 pm one. I stayed in the Visitor's Center with Bryson and Asher while the others were in the temple. But left about 5:30 pm to get ready for the 6 pm temple session that we had decided to do. Crismon and I were so surprised to that in that session was Jacob Cuevas, a young man preparing to leave on his mission. His mother, Leslie, and his grandmother Mary Lindhorst, have been special friends of ours. Crismon was Mary's home teacher for many years when we were in the same ward before the boundary changes. Leslie's husband died suddenly about 10 months ago or so. Crismon has been a tremendous support to Mary over the years. When Mary's husband had died suddenly about 25 years ago, Crismon was the first one Mary called.
Jacob has felt close to Pres. Lewis, and when their family was moving out of the stake, Jacob didn't want to move as he wanted Pres. Lewis to set him apart as a missionary. A few weeks or so ago, Jacob had mentioned to Crismon in passing after a Sacrament meeting when his Endowment session was. Crismon didn't have a way of writing it down at just that moment and it had slipped his mind. But when we found ourselves in that Endowment session that evening, and realized that that is the most important thing we could be doing at that very important, we knew the Lord had a hand in our being there. Mary kept saying to me in the celestial room, Crismon has always been there for me at all the important times in my life. We didn't know how to tell her at that moment, and it was by happen chance that we were there, but later when she was bearing her testimony in her Damascus Ward, and Crismon was on the stand, she spoke again of the many tender mercies that had happened at Jacob's Endowment session, and referred to someone who was always there for her, then turned and looked at Crismon. He got up at the end of the meeting and said, "It is the Lord that was aware of Mary, and He had put us there at that session." We were so very thankful for the Lord's goodness in making sure we were there in the temple that evening for that special evening with their family. Truly a tender mercy.
A month ago, Jennifer Stagg, shared in her testimony about Bruce Rotolo, a man in our ward that joined the church a number of years ago. They were assigned to Home Teach him. She mentioned that after he was baptized, someone in the ward had bought him a gift subscription of the Ensign magazine. (We happened to be the ones that ordered the Ensign for him, but others don't know). He told of that first issue of the Ensign arriving on a particularly difficult day. He opened it and he found an article that he desperately needed that day. He marveled to think that someone had written that article awhile ago, it happened to be printed in that issue, and that magazine happened to be delivered to him on that very day that he needed it so much. There are no coincidences with the Lord.
Crismon and I usually go together to visit stake members in need on Monday evenings. We have our FHE on Sunday nights and do visits the next evening. About ten days ago Crismon went on his own to visit Bro. Henderson, a man from the Estacada Ward who was dying of cancer. When he arrived at the hospital and went to the door, in his mind he thought it said that that door was closed at 5 pm. He wasn't sure how to get to the right entrance. He happened to ask some men, who were smoking, in the parking lot how to get to a certain area of the hospital. The man said he was going to the same place and he would take him. Amazingly, it turns out they were both there to visit the same person. This man was a nephew to Bro. Henderson, but he was like a Dad to him as his father had died years earlier. It was especially interesting to learn that this man was a member of the church, but had been less active for year. We knew it had been the hand of the Lord directly Crismon to speak with this man and make that connection with him. Sadly, Bro. Henderson died the next morning.
Our grandson, Addison was turning 14 on Sunday, Nov. 26th. Crismon made arrangement for his Sunday meetings to be scheduled at a different time so we could go to Eugene for Addison's ordination. Because we were gone on that Sunday, Crismon and his counselors, and Executive Secretary, Brian Schumacher, held their presidency meeting the following Thursday. This meant that Brian needed to get a substitute for his temple shift in the Baptistry. He asked Scott Hansen to substitute for him. He in the baptistry that evening came Tess Morgan and her siblings. They gathered around the baptistry for the baptism of their father. This was especially touching for Bro. Hansen as he had been a good friend of their's for years. It was just meant to be that he was there for this special temple experience for the Morgan family. They went on to do all of his work for him that evening. Again, the Lord's hand was in our lives, making all the details of our lives come together at just the right moment in time.
So many of these tender mercies were due to being in the temple. I have found that our temple service has blessed our lives so much. We feel a greater love for each other, we feel an added measure of peace in our lives, we feel great contentment with our lives and circumstances, although we have challenges, we seem better able to handle them.
Jan. 7, 2018
Crismon was attending the Powell Valley Ward Fast & Testimony meeting. He was so happy to see Matt & Brandi Sims there. We had visited them about 6 weeks ago. They have been less active for a number of years. I do't know if our visit made a difference or not, but we are so grateful they came to church. Matt bore his testimony and talked about a prompting he had to come back to church. He felt a desire to take his wife to the temple and the spirit they felt just walking on the temple grounds. I remember when we visited them, their little daughter about 8 years of age was sitting on the church a little ways away from me. While we were there, she kept moving closer and closer to me. By the end she was sitting close to me. I couldn't help thinking that she felt the spirit with us there and it was a new feeling for her and I felt she was responding to it in that way.
Feb. 4, 2018
Today I taught the Gospel Doctrine Class for the first time in this new assignment. I did it for about 3 years before about 10 years ago, or so. I was very nervous, and I was way too stressed over it than I should have been. I resolved not to be that nervous again, as it was just not good, and not trusting in the Lord. I wanted to record a wonderful tender mercy for me as I was able to give my lesson and not be in pain. In fact, I felt good, and strong and without pain the entire day until I got home from church. It was then that I started to feel pain. This was definitely a little miracle to me as I'm always in pain. This was a testimony to me that the Lord was mindful of me, and He was there to sustain me. I know this may not happen again, but it gave me that assurance that the Lord was aware of me and my needs and He blessed me greatly that day. I felt the love and support of the class as they could tell that I felt unsure about everything, and they were good to encourage me along.
On Jan. 10th, Julia & Austin flew to Portland after tending Meredith's kids in Hawaii, while Bryan & Meredith came to Portland for Tesa & Dalton Boyles wedding. Then they drove back to Moscow, ID, to pack up and then 9 days later, they head back for Austin' new job, just north of Seattle. We are so happy they are close, just 3 hours, 15 minutes away in Kenmore, WA.
We enjoyed celebrating our anniversary, Jan. 16th by going out to lunch and then a movie.
On our way home from the temple, we swung by the Caudle's to wish Clark a Happy 11th Birthday.
The Stake Women’s Conference was the next morning. They had a special guest, Garth Smith, from CA who put on a beautiful program. He arranges hymns and has a visual presentation that goes along with the hymns that he plays. He performed for us Friday evening as well, and it was a very uplifting time together. I was one of four sisters that were asked to speak at the Women’s Conf. My topic was Service and Charity. Crismon spoke briefly at the end. At the breakfast I enjoyed sitting by Linda Johns, Gary's Mom. She and her husband have been serving as missionaries in our area. Wonderful people!
