The Time Is Far Spent

In the quiet morning there is reverence. 

Santa in the library. 

All the way from Alaska to make our days merry and bright. 

Christmas and children:  joy! 

It appears that I fell of the edge of the blogging world, but am hanging on barely to tell my few faithful readers farewell and THANK YOU for reading the past fifteen months.   Just under three weeks before our release date.  Emotional.  I think there may be a few tears when the mission sings, “God Be With You ‘Til We Meet Again,” even though I have been telling myself, “No.”

            Things I won’t miss:  library training; library drama; sticking to a prescribed schedule; the inversion; the drive to Wal-Mart; fighting sleep while staring at the computer screen.     

            Things I will miss:  Sunday morning with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square!!!; the simplicity of apartment life; the opportunity to go to Conference Center events; walks in beautiful Temple Square (not so beautiful now that construction has started); the Salt Lake Temple itself;  the opportunity to attend so many different temples; walks around the Capitol and up City Creek; inspiring life stories from fellow missionaries; the time to solve family history puzzles, especially when they lead to temple ordinances; time with family and friends; the strength I feel being around so many good people who are sincerely trying to turn their hearts and the hearts of others to their fathers.

            I have come to understand, at least in small ways, what Elder Renlund means when he says that “as we participate in family history and temple work today, we also lay claim to ‘healing’ blessings promised by prophets…these blessings are…breathtakingly amazing because of their scope, specificity, and consequence in mortality.”  (April 2018)