We have Witnessed a Miracle
During the Christmas holidays, I had a wonderful experience—the kind that every retired teacher wants to have. We had gone to Portland for a wedding reception, and we had just entered a restaurant for dinner when I heard someone call my name. Here stood two of my former Columbia High School students!! I barely recognized them. They had been my students about eight years ago, and both of them had been addicted to alcohol, drugs, and nicotine. Their ambition in life was to go live on the reservation in New Mexico because alcohol and cigarettes were cheaper there. The young man designed exquisite jewelry, and they felt that they could set up one of those roadside shacks to earn cigarette money. But, here they were, eight years later, clean and smiling with two beautiful children. He is a sous chef in a restaurant, and she cares for the elderly in a nursing home. They said, “We really did listen to you, Mrs. Kennedy.” I would never have known. They didn’t look like they listened!! As you can imagine, it made my day!
I told Tom that I didn’t want to give a talk about New Year’s resolutions, but I’ve decided, after this experience with former students, that I do want to share with you some of the changes I want to make in myself for next year. Maybe, by my announcing them publicly, I will work more diligently on them, and you can remind me when I’m not working as diligently as I should .
My first resolution is to continue to do my assignment as a called temple patron. In September, Barbara Clack, Barbara Matosich, Donna Marx, and I accepted an assignment from the bishop to attend the temple once a week. It is not a calling, and there are times when it is not what I want to do with my day, and I’m tempted to stay home in bed. I have to admit, it is the most fun way to fulfill a church calling that I’ve had in a long time!! We leave at 7:30, and we’re completely oblivious to the traffic because we’re so busy talking. We attend two endowment sessions, have a nice lunch in the temple, do some initiatories, and then head home. We top off our trip with soft ice cream cones from McDonald’s. Now, don’t get me wrong, we are very serious about our assignment. When we’re in the temple, we have spiritual experiences as well. We’re all business as we do service for those who cannot help themselves, and we reap as many benefits as they do. If you have female names for which you need initiatories or endowments done, please contact us and please join us if you can.
My second resolution is to be more open to the spirit and the promptings of the Lord. All of us have been given the gift of the Holy Ghost to prompt us to do good works, but I’m sometimes so caught up in what I’m doing for myself that I don’t listen. On the rare occasions that I do take the time to listen, I have some fantastic experiences that are for my own edification. When we were on our mission in LaJolla, I was walking past the director’s office, when I heard the most pitiful sobbing. The director came out of his office, looking totally at a loss as to what to do. We hadn’t been on our mission very long, and he didn’t know us very well, but he asked if I could try to comfort this girl, whom I’d never seen until that moment. She was in the throes of an anxiety attack. A senior at UCSD, she had only one year to finish her degree, but she had lost her tutor. This was a problem because she had a severe learning disability and required a reader and writer to help her with her course work. I was hesitant to volunteer to help because her major was international political studies—not my strong suit, but, for once, I listened to the prompting, which said, “Do this. This is what a mission is all about!” You’ve guessed the rest. We spent hours upon hours upon hours—studying very hard, laughing, crying, praying together to get Lesha through school. It was truly a time when the student taught the teacher.
Another resolution is to be more willing to be of service to others. The summer we returned from LaJolla, I had a sweet awakening regarding service that I’d like to share. This is what I wrote to my sister about the project: “Our compassionate service project proved to be quite an experience. There were Barbara Matosich, Dottie Niemela and I in one car, and Tom and Vale in the other. You probably recognize those two names. Barbara and Dottie are probably my two oldest and dearest friends. We laughed and chattered all the way up the highway, got lost several times, and finally found the house. Oh my gosh. It was a home out of "Grapes of Wrath." A mountain of garbage bags, dogs, cats, a rabbit or two, an ancient RV pulled beside an old trailer and next to that an old, old truck with a long bed. He was using a walker, filthy dirty, and she, who suffered from a bad back, was obese and had long, stringy hair. They were both mentally challenged. Bless Barbara's heart; she's the RS President, and she forged right ahead. They were so grateful to have us there. They'd had no water or electricity for days. Their old trailer had three bedrooms and two bathrooms--all filled with "stuff," dusty, dirty, garage sale "stuff" piled high in every nook and cranny of every room. There were mouse droppings, cat hairs, dirt, and grime everywhere. The stench was horrible, but we were committed. We worked solidly for 2 1/2 hours and hauled out everything we could. Tom and Vale stayed outside taking boxes and furniture as we handed it to them to load into the truck, which seemed to sag every time they set a box down, and we three ladies packed and cleaned. It was just the saddest sight I have ever witnessed. She had lots of cleaning supplies, so you know that she had the desire, but maybe not the knowledge to clean. The fellow told us that they'd called another church to ask for help, and they'd come out to evaluate whether they could do so or not. He said, "They went through our stuff and said that none of it was worth moving, so they couldn't help us. It made us feel about two inches tall." Their stuff certainly wasn't worth moving, but it was all they had.
She said, "There's a lot mouse @&* around here," and I said, "I can handle that, but, if I see a mouse, you may hear me scream." She handed me a mangy old cat she had been petting and said, "Throw this cat at it; she's a good mouser!" Gulp... I would say they were in their mid-fifties. I know they were going to live in the RV, but I don't think they had a place to park the RV. Supposedly they had a storage unit rented for their stuff, but I find that hard to believe because we've been looking for storage units for a few weeks now. What was fascinating about the whole thing was that she knew what everything was, and she valued every bit of it!! She had lots of craft stuff. Vale was the cutest of all. After it was all over, and we were covered, head to toe in grease, grime, and mouse droppings, I said, "How would you like to live like that?" He was oblivious to all of it. He'd worked as hard as any of us, and he'd enjoyed all the dogs, cats, excitement, etc. He said, "I've always kind of wanted to live in an RV." Perspective is everything!
In thinking of Vale’s wonderful perspective on service, let me share another from the writing of my daughter, Susan. Susan and her family recently adopted a biracial baby who was born in Louisiana. The adoption was handled by a lawyer, and Susan had been told that the mother was a rather promiscuous young girl who didn’t know for sure who the father was and who certainly didn’t want or didn’t care about the baby. However, she wrote: The next day, we headed to the lawyer's office. We were both pretty bleary-eyed thanks to a wild night with the baby, but we were anxious to get all the paperwork out of the way. We were also excited to meet Julianna's birthmom, who decided at the last minute that she did want to meet us after all. What could have been a very awkward meeting with her turned out to be one of the most amazing and uplifting experiences of my life. After asking and answering questions, snapping photos, and admiring Julianna, it was time to say goodbye. As I hugged the birth mom, she whispered, "I'm so glad I could do this for you. Just promise you'll give her a loving home." I walked out of the lawyer's office humbled, marvelling at the incredible sacrifice I had just witnessed.
My fourth resolution is to increase the time I spend on family history work, which, for me, includes indexing, genealogy, and writing my personal history. I’ve done genealogy work since I was twelve years old, and a Beehive girl in the Young Women’s program. Most recently, I have been fervently praying for a small miracle. My mother-in-law worked for many years on the genealogy of the Kennedys, in the days when there were no computers and doing genealogy was an expensive hobby. She loved one lady particularly—Mary Hamilton, who is Tom’s great-great grandmother. She even wrote a fictional story about Mary. Everything she knew about Mary, however, was based on family stories that had not been verified by actual factual material. Mary Hamilton came from Scotland to Nova Scotia with her husband and son and was widowed shortly after her arrival in Nova Scotia. She married a second man, John McInnes, moved to British Columbia and reared several children who are quite prominent in British Columbia history. But, Peggy was never able to find Mary Hamilton or the Kennedys in Scotland. I have been praying for years that before my mother-in-law died, I would be able to locate the family in Scotland, so she would feel that her work had not been in vain. Grandma is 93 and not in the best of health, so I’ve re-doubled my efforts. In frustration, I typed Mary’s name into google search!! Again, you know the rest of this story. I’ve found Mary’s family—father, brothers and sister, and I’m even corresponding with one of Mary’s descendants in Nova Scotia. Genealogy has served me well as a very rewarding, affirming hobby.
Life has been very good to me. I have been blessed beyond measure. It seems to me that I owe the Lord the courtesy of doing all that I can; yet, I can’t seem to do anything that doesn’t benefit me even more than it does God. May we all be able to work on our resolutions, and will you remind me when I’m not??
I told Tom that I didn’t want to give a talk about New Year’s resolutions, but I’ve decided, after this experience with former students, that I do want to share with you some of the changes I want to make in myself for next year. Maybe, by my announcing them publicly, I will work more diligently on them, and you can remind me when I’m not working as diligently as I should .
My first resolution is to continue to do my assignment as a called temple patron. In September, Barbara Clack, Barbara Matosich, Donna Marx, and I accepted an assignment from the bishop to attend the temple once a week. It is not a calling, and there are times when it is not what I want to do with my day, and I’m tempted to stay home in bed. I have to admit, it is the most fun way to fulfill a church calling that I’ve had in a long time!! We leave at 7:30, and we’re completely oblivious to the traffic because we’re so busy talking. We attend two endowment sessions, have a nice lunch in the temple, do some initiatories, and then head home. We top off our trip with soft ice cream cones from McDonald’s. Now, don’t get me wrong, we are very serious about our assignment. When we’re in the temple, we have spiritual experiences as well. We’re all business as we do service for those who cannot help themselves, and we reap as many benefits as they do. If you have female names for which you need initiatories or endowments done, please contact us and please join us if you can.
My second resolution is to be more open to the spirit and the promptings of the Lord. All of us have been given the gift of the Holy Ghost to prompt us to do good works, but I’m sometimes so caught up in what I’m doing for myself that I don’t listen. On the rare occasions that I do take the time to listen, I have some fantastic experiences that are for my own edification. When we were on our mission in LaJolla, I was walking past the director’s office, when I heard the most pitiful sobbing. The director came out of his office, looking totally at a loss as to what to do. We hadn’t been on our mission very long, and he didn’t know us very well, but he asked if I could try to comfort this girl, whom I’d never seen until that moment. She was in the throes of an anxiety attack. A senior at UCSD, she had only one year to finish her degree, but she had lost her tutor. This was a problem because she had a severe learning disability and required a reader and writer to help her with her course work. I was hesitant to volunteer to help because her major was international political studies—not my strong suit, but, for once, I listened to the prompting, which said, “Do this. This is what a mission is all about!” You’ve guessed the rest. We spent hours upon hours upon hours—studying very hard, laughing, crying, praying together to get Lesha through school. It was truly a time when the student taught the teacher.
Another resolution is to be more willing to be of service to others. The summer we returned from LaJolla, I had a sweet awakening regarding service that I’d like to share. This is what I wrote to my sister about the project: “Our compassionate service project proved to be quite an experience. There were Barbara Matosich, Dottie Niemela and I in one car, and Tom and Vale in the other. You probably recognize those two names. Barbara and Dottie are probably my two oldest and dearest friends. We laughed and chattered all the way up the highway, got lost several times, and finally found the house. Oh my gosh. It was a home out of "Grapes of Wrath." A mountain of garbage bags, dogs, cats, a rabbit or two, an ancient RV pulled beside an old trailer and next to that an old, old truck with a long bed. He was using a walker, filthy dirty, and she, who suffered from a bad back, was obese and had long, stringy hair. They were both mentally challenged. Bless Barbara's heart; she's the RS President, and she forged right ahead. They were so grateful to have us there. They'd had no water or electricity for days. Their old trailer had three bedrooms and two bathrooms--all filled with "stuff," dusty, dirty, garage sale "stuff" piled high in every nook and cranny of every room. There were mouse droppings, cat hairs, dirt, and grime everywhere. The stench was horrible, but we were committed. We worked solidly for 2 1/2 hours and hauled out everything we could. Tom and Vale stayed outside taking boxes and furniture as we handed it to them to load into the truck, which seemed to sag every time they set a box down, and we three ladies packed and cleaned. It was just the saddest sight I have ever witnessed. She had lots of cleaning supplies, so you know that she had the desire, but maybe not the knowledge to clean. The fellow told us that they'd called another church to ask for help, and they'd come out to evaluate whether they could do so or not. He said, "They went through our stuff and said that none of it was worth moving, so they couldn't help us. It made us feel about two inches tall." Their stuff certainly wasn't worth moving, but it was all they had.
She said, "There's a lot mouse @&* around here," and I said, "I can handle that, but, if I see a mouse, you may hear me scream." She handed me a mangy old cat she had been petting and said, "Throw this cat at it; she's a good mouser!" Gulp... I would say they were in their mid-fifties. I know they were going to live in the RV, but I don't think they had a place to park the RV. Supposedly they had a storage unit rented for their stuff, but I find that hard to believe because we've been looking for storage units for a few weeks now. What was fascinating about the whole thing was that she knew what everything was, and she valued every bit of it!! She had lots of craft stuff. Vale was the cutest of all. After it was all over, and we were covered, head to toe in grease, grime, and mouse droppings, I said, "How would you like to live like that?" He was oblivious to all of it. He'd worked as hard as any of us, and he'd enjoyed all the dogs, cats, excitement, etc. He said, "I've always kind of wanted to live in an RV." Perspective is everything!
In thinking of Vale’s wonderful perspective on service, let me share another from the writing of my daughter, Susan. Susan and her family recently adopted a biracial baby who was born in Louisiana. The adoption was handled by a lawyer, and Susan had been told that the mother was a rather promiscuous young girl who didn’t know for sure who the father was and who certainly didn’t want or didn’t care about the baby. However, she wrote: The next day, we headed to the lawyer's office. We were both pretty bleary-eyed thanks to a wild night with the baby, but we were anxious to get all the paperwork out of the way. We were also excited to meet Julianna's birthmom, who decided at the last minute that she did want to meet us after all. What could have been a very awkward meeting with her turned out to be one of the most amazing and uplifting experiences of my life. After asking and answering questions, snapping photos, and admiring Julianna, it was time to say goodbye. As I hugged the birth mom, she whispered, "I'm so glad I could do this for you. Just promise you'll give her a loving home." I walked out of the lawyer's office humbled, marvelling at the incredible sacrifice I had just witnessed.
My fourth resolution is to increase the time I spend on family history work, which, for me, includes indexing, genealogy, and writing my personal history. I’ve done genealogy work since I was twelve years old, and a Beehive girl in the Young Women’s program. Most recently, I have been fervently praying for a small miracle. My mother-in-law worked for many years on the genealogy of the Kennedys, in the days when there were no computers and doing genealogy was an expensive hobby. She loved one lady particularly—Mary Hamilton, who is Tom’s great-great grandmother. She even wrote a fictional story about Mary. Everything she knew about Mary, however, was based on family stories that had not been verified by actual factual material. Mary Hamilton came from Scotland to Nova Scotia with her husband and son and was widowed shortly after her arrival in Nova Scotia. She married a second man, John McInnes, moved to British Columbia and reared several children who are quite prominent in British Columbia history. But, Peggy was never able to find Mary Hamilton or the Kennedys in Scotland. I have been praying for years that before my mother-in-law died, I would be able to locate the family in Scotland, so she would feel that her work had not been in vain. Grandma is 93 and not in the best of health, so I’ve re-doubled my efforts. In frustration, I typed Mary’s name into google search!! Again, you know the rest of this story. I’ve found Mary’s family—father, brothers and sister, and I’m even corresponding with one of Mary’s descendants in Nova Scotia. Genealogy has served me well as a very rewarding, affirming hobby.
Life has been very good to me. I have been blessed beyond measure. It seems to me that I owe the Lord the courtesy of doing all that I can; yet, I can’t seem to do anything that doesn’t benefit me even more than it does God. May we all be able to work on our resolutions, and will you remind me when I’m not??
For me, the most significant word throughout the Christmas season is REMEMBER. So often in this season, our conversations are punctuated with the phrase, "Remember when we did this or that?" We spend hours with family and friends reminiscing about times past and present. We remember in church services, nativity scenes, and newspaper articles the true meaning of Christmas. We remember friends' and families' kindnesses and their personalities as we look for just the right and appropriate gift for them. All of this remembering is so helpful in these hard and difficult times and can be brought and savored and reviewed again and again when our life is painful.
