Accepting Help

Yesterday my companion and I were driving through neighborhoods trying to find an address we had written on a little notecard. The road we were on was on the outskirts of town. Because it was all squeezed into a small grove there were lots of little, secret side streets that looked like they had been  after thoughts. With all of the side streets and oddly ordered house numbers, we were lost.

We could not find the street.

We could not find the number.

After driving slowly down the street, inspecting every mailbox number and house number, we decided to turn around. Normally, I would have my companion Sister C. get out of the car and help back me up. However, since it was just a small turn around, I rationalized that I could do it without help. I thought that there was just some grass behind me.

I slowly backed the car. I couldn't see anything. I just trusted myself that everything was okay.

Then I shifted into drive, turned the steering wheel and pulled forward. I was actually able to see what had really been behind me.

What had REALLY been behind me? What had I REALLY risked by not asking for help?

A huge stack of bricks and a telephone pole. No joke. I could have completely destroyed the car. Why did not I ask for help?

Life is far to complicated and risky to navigate without help. I think it is worth the work to be worthy for God's guidance!

Champion Good! Pray and listen for God's guidance!

Be a Doer of the Word

A few weeks ago I was sitting in church.

I was trying to focus. I wanted to keep the sabbath day (Sunday) holy by feeling close to God in church.

I was busy listening to the music and trying to think about Jesus Christ.

 The first speaker got up and started to address the congregation. While trying to internalize the speaker's message, I heard little footsteps running behind me. Then I turned and saw the chapel door open and close.

All dressed up for church, a little boy from the row behind me had escaped from his mother's grip and dashed out of the chapel!

His mother was helpless as she tried to handle her newborn baby and not disturb the church meeting. She wasn't able to get up and run after her disorderly son.

The thought crossed my mind to get up and go fetch her son so that she wouldn't have to worry about it. However, I changed my mind. "No. I should stay in church and listen to the speakers! Isn't that what church is for?"

I struggled with myself, trying to make a decision. Should I help or should I stay? What would God expect of me? I decided to get up and go help her, but I was too late. I heard the strong confident steps of another young mother go out to retrieve the boy.

As I was sheepishly reconciling my thoughts after this, I realized that Jesus Christ would have left his pew in  a heartbeat to go help the young mother.  Back in his day, there was a similar situation. He saw a man who needed to be healed. Even though it was the sabbath, he healed the man. Others thought that Jesus was acting inappropriately for the Sabbath. He answered them saying,

"Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill?" (Mark 3:4)

Christ was right. I submit that we all work more on 'doing good' and less on feeling holy. Other-centered is always better than self-centered. If it worked for Christ it will work for us!

That is what church is for.

"...Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only... Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world"

(James1:22, 27).

Champion good! Do good!



Not of The World

Dreaming, time stops, deja vu kind of moments happen to us all. Here is an example of one of my own.

It was a bright afternoon on a busy street in downtown Winchester, Virginia. I had just finished choir practice and was walking down the street towards my car. Normally there was traffic at this time of day, but there was a momentary lull. The street was silent and abandoned. As I walked, I heard beautiful, distant singing. It was a superb, high, woman's voice. As I tried to understand the words and find where the voice was coming from, I saw a white convertible turn the corner at the end of the street. I heard the voice more clearly and I realized that it was coming from the car. The man driving was listening to Italian opera! It was so beautiful! The car's appearance seemed to fit the angelic sound of the woman's voice. It was sparkling in the sun. The combination made the concrete parking garages and threadbare townhouses of downtown Winchester become ethereal. I reveled in the beauty of the moment. As the pristine white car approached and quickly passed me, I hungrily drank in the music, the car, the thrill! In an instant, the car passed by and the music faded. Traffic resumed and the dream was over.

I have never forgotten this.

Christ described himself as being "...not of this world." He said, "...Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world" (John 8:23).

Maybe being in His presence is like drinking the gorgeous music coming from the white convertible? Perhaps we only have small moments of exposure to His actual nature to motivate us to seek for more? Perhaps when we are following Christ we have a similar effect on other people? We seem out of place and unrealistic but in a priceless way.

I think so.

Champion Good!

Moment of Truth

 

Hi, my name is Sister Biggs and I have gained weight on my mission.

No really! I have! I have gained about ten pounds. There are two reasons for this change. #1 I am not as active. #2 I eat as though I was still active.

Nobody likes feeling bad about their body. Usually, I do not. However, gaining some weight was making me feel down. I was particularly panicked when my clothes started getting tighter. So, I knuckled down and decided to lose some weight. I have tried a couple of times before and failed. This time I promised myself that I would keep picture records of my progress so that I could share it with you! So, here I am keeping my promise.

Day 1 picture

Here is the book that I used to set up my exercise routine.

My main problem was not getting myself to exercise, it was consistantly exercising. I decided that I can do any exercise routine for three days in a row. So, I do three days of exercise. Then I skip a day. Then I do three more days of exercise. So far, this has been working. I run for fifteen minutes every morning.

The first week I could barely make it through the whole run. The second week I did a lot better. The third week I was surprised at how quickly it passed! Now I am trying to run faster over the whole period. I can tell that I am getting faster. It is really fun to see my progress. I feel really good about myself. Not to mention, I have lost five pounds! 

Now, I have also tried to control my eating. Mostly, I do not snack too much, I drink lots of water, and I take single portions at meals. I am not always the best at this, but it has been helping.

My favorite part so far is not losing the weight, but having such good self esteem. I like my studies more. I like the people around me more. I feel God's love more. I am more self disciplined.

I think it is cool that our bodies and our spirits are connected. When I am doing well spiritually, I feel good physically. This past month I have learned that as I do well physically I do well emotionally and spiritually.

Champion good! Exercise!

Tai Kwon Do

When I was nine, my older brother watched The Karate Kid. He and the rest of my four brothers were so enthused they convinced our mom to sign us all up for a Tai Kwon Do class. She agreed under one condition: we had to buy our uniform and gear.

I think I borrowed a uniform until I was able to buy my own. The borrowed ones were plain and white. I liked class, but did not practice at home, which made me nervous for every class. However, I had a good instructor. He was a tall, thin man with a low voice, a thick mustache and a trusting way about him. I looked up to him a lot. I wanted to please him with my progress, so eventually I did try to practice a little. I was dying for the day when I could wear my karate uniform in class! It would undoubtedly make me better at Tai Kwon Do! I wanted the belt and the Korean and America flag patches especially. They looked so official.

However, I did not have the money for my uniform. I saved up for over a month. I got an allowance, I did little jobs, and saved money I found in the laundry. I kept it all in a little purse.

You know the smell of change you've been holding in your hand? Nickles, dimes, pennies and quarters all smell that way if you hold them for any length of time. That smell became familiar to me.I counted the mounds of change in my purse over and over as I saved up for my uniform. I had a small wad of dollar bills, but for the most part, my savings were in change.

Eventually, the long awaited day came for me to buy my uniform. My mom and I walked solemnly back into my instructor's office. Both of them stood to the side as they watched me count out every penny of the required amount. After the few agonizing minutes of coins clinking onto the desk, I looked up and saw my mom and instructor looking at me proudly. I was extremely proud of myself. I had done it! I had earned my uniform!

Christ is ultimately the one who saves us. Choosing to follow Him is like me deciding to please my instructor. Someday we will stand before the Lord and give "an accounting" (The Bible, Matthew 12:36) of our lives. I think every small deed is a penny or two in our purse. I have no idea what judgement day will be like, but I think Christ will be just as proud of you and me and our small efforts to practice and to save up for our "heavenly" uniform. I think Heavenly Father and Christ see our efforts whether small or great, and are proud of us when we do our part. We will have their names and symbols emblazoned on our chests and look "official" and be great at Tai Kwon Do!

Champion Good!

Helping Mary

Last year I worked for five months as a certified nursing assistant (CNA). Nursing assistants do dirty work. We deal with all of the messes that the human body can make. However, we are also the ones that spend the most one on one time with patients. We talk with them, dress them, clean them, feed them, and measure their improvement.

One of the most meaningful memories I have comes from when I was Mary's CNA.

Mary was a sad sight. My first impression was of her large stomach, filthy mouth, smelly clothes, and gunky eyes. Mary was wheelchair bound. She did not speak or move her eyes, although people said she loved to sing. Earlier in life, she had been an opera singer. Her opera career publicity photos were displayed in her room. They bore no resemblance to the squashed, empty, lump of a woman who was now confined to her wheelchair.

When she was moved to my hall I had to inspect her condition. It was worse than I thought. Everywhere skin folded (armpits, thighs, belly rolls etc.) was bright red and raw. Her flaking, dry skin had gathered in the sweaty folds in globs of what looked like human cheese. I was disgusted, mad, and full of pity. "No one deserves to be this way!" I thought.
The next morning I gave Mary a shower. I took every pain I could to make her comfortable and to carefully restore her skin to health. Gently I soaped and rinsed her raw skin. I brushed her teeth twice over and flossed them. I wiped her eyes and washed her hair. I tried to talk to her kindly.

Eventually she started to look around and whisper raspy, one-word replies to my questions. Eventually, I told her about my interest in music and asked her if she knew any songs. She and I both knew quite of few of the same songs! While I worked, she and I sang. Her aged voice still showed evidence of her training and vocation. We smiled at one another and by the end of the shower when she was dried, dressed and warm, she was also happy.

Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Matthew 25:40

The Grave

I do not fear dying too much. If I had to die to save others or to support a noble cause, I think I could do it. I have never faced a life or death situation. I am certain I do not understand the paralyzing fear or sadness that accompanies it. But, if I am honest with myself, I think I could die willingly. I might cry or tremble while I face my end, but I think I could do it fear or not.

To be honest, what scares me more is losing someone I love. That has never happened to me and I dread the day it does.

Once I had a dog die. He was hit by a car. I cried a lot. I wrote down all of my favorite things about him. And I took good care of his grave for the first little while. However, the pain eventually passed, I got a new dog, and I no longer cried about it. But he was just a dog. What will it be like if it is someone I love?

Once I had a childhood friend die. However, I had not been in close touch with her for a long time. When I went to visit her grave, I cried because I was amazed that someone could just be gone. I had never experienced someone disappearing out of my life before. After I left her grave, I was quiet, but I was not sad anymore. Her death did not have a huge impact on me because we were not close. But,  how I would have felt if we had been close? The supreme sadness of losing someone terrified me.

There is a concept that I cling to. I have been taught it since I was little. It is: There is life after death. The scriptures teach us:

"And behold, again it hath been spoken, that there is a first resurrection, a resurrection of all those who have been, or who are, or who shall be, down to the resurrection of Christ from the dead.....The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame" (The Book of Mormon, Alma 40:16, 23).

We can see our loved ones again! Death is not an end! Though it is deeply painful, it is not permanent. Isn't that the most wonderful news? It makes me feel so grateful! I do not have to be afraid! I can be with all of my loved ones again, forever.