Meant to be Kind Words



My favorite sister went to the Temple this past week. The Manti Temple. The same one that Uncle Vic and Aunt Piney went to. The same one Janele and her hubby were married/sealed in. I don't know if she realizes how special that Temple is to us.

My sis has been through some very ugly things in life. Oh, she was never beat or belittled by her husband. She doesn't have one. She was never ridiculed for her mothering skills by other 'more adept' mothers. She never had or raised children. She never won 'yard of the week' from any community because she doesn't own a home. She does own a trailer house, but it's on borrowed property.

She's had health/medical challenges. Plenty of them. And due to some things from her childhood, she's had developmental issues as well. A doctor once said of her when she was nearing 21, "She's 21 going on 14." In other words, developmentally she's more like a 14 year old.

No wonder it's taken her over 30 years to get far enough into the Gospel of Jesus Christ to get to the point she's ready to go to the Temple.

She had about 25-30 friends who came to support her there too. These are people who know her for what she is, love her, encourage her, pick up her arms when they hang heavy, cheer her heart when she is sad, and people who let her give back love in the only small simple ways she knows how... AND they love her for herself.

After we parted I went to buy a new Temple bag. Mine was over 10 years old-a gym bag I bought at K-Mart and it was finally starting to split seams. Like my new bag?



While I was at the store picking it out there was this little 80 or 90 year old frail, white-haired lady shuffling around with a walker in the company of her daughter (at least 60 years old). The elder was looking for a new Temple dress the daughter offered when the attendant asked how she could help, "She's convinced she's going to die soon and she's wanting a new dress to be buried in." To which the attendant responded in a very kindly sweet voice as she gently and tenderly slipped her arm across the elders shoulder, "Oh, we'll have you around for a lot longer."

What was she thinking? For myself, when I get that old, seeing the nation I love go to pot, if my spouse and friends have all graduated from this life, if I'm here and can't see worth beans, can't get around on my own and feel like I'm of little use and value... Can we be real and say something constructive like, "Way to be thinking ahead." "You are so thoughtful and kind to be preparing for the inevitable day we all will face." "You must love your family to be so ready." "Bless you for caring enough to be so prepared."

Seriously, it really is okay to die. We're just going back home from where we first came. It is okay.

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