A Memorable Visit

I need to tell you about a visit I had today.  May I preface by saying that I love to visit with people, especially the elderly, who really appreciate it.
There is an elderly man who our family has known for many years.  We have loved and enjoyed he and his wife like another set of grandparents.  One year and three months ago, this man's wife passed away.  He was saddened, of course, but has done his best to keep moving forward.  During our visit, today, we sat on the front porch and talked about life and everything that we are experiencing.  We expressed our love for one another and I felt grateful to be in his presence.  I could see that he was thrilled to have a visit and that we were able to 'catch up' on the happenings of our respective lives.
When I was a young boy, my dad was called to be a bishop in the Mormon church.  I remember that he loved to spend his time visiting the elderly and attending to their needs.  I often went with him and watched as he gently cared for them.  He was always willing to show affection for them.  Some of the widows that we visited had lost their husbands to death and probably hadn't hugged a man for many years.  I was grateful that he wasn't afraid to show affection for these old and also lonely people.
The simple visit to someone will brighten and lighten their day.  A phone call to let somebody know that you were thinking about them will bring immeasurable joy to their hearts.  Even the most simple acts, still show that you care for someone else.  The visit today blessed my life too.

Come With Us

Several weeks ago, I drove past an elementary school nearby my workplace.  I have driven past this same school hundreds of times throughout the years, but this particular time was different.  A scene, on the playground, got my attention.  Two boys walked toward a boy who was seated on the asphalt all alone.  The body language of the two boys seemed like they were confronting the single boy in a bullying sort of fashion.  I was surprised when I continued to watch what would eventually unfold.  I obviously couldn't hear the verbal exchange but the 'visual' was good enough.  The two boys stopped in front of the boy, whose head hung down, and began to speak to him.  At first, the seated boy kept his head down and appeared to say nothing.  The other boy, who was standing, exchanged words of his own and the boy's head lifted until he looked up.  One of the boy's motioned with his hand for the seated boy to come join them.  I watched for a minute longer as a boy reached out his hand to the one all alone and pulled him to his feet.  The three boys walked away together and the one who was once left alone was greeted and included by a couple who cared.
What a lesson it was for me.  I love to see other people doing good for somebody else.  I want to be like the two boys who went out of their way to befriend another.

Fair Or Unfair?

When I was a teenager, I decided on a particular weekday that I wasn't feeling up to attending school and had told my mom that I was I'll and was going to stay home from school. My mom lived by the rule that if you were too sick to go to school, then you were surely too sick to participate in any other activities on the day of the illness. There wasn't the opportunity of sudden healing once the hour arrived when school let out for the day. For some unknown reason, I thought that since there was a regional playoff church basketball game that night that she would find it in her heart to allow me to play in the game. She 'stuck to her guns' and told me that I was too ill to be playing in the game. I told her that I would not be playing in the game, only cheering on and supporting my team. (Now isn't that the biggest stretch of the truth you've ever heard?) She did allow me to go, but only as a spectator. Well, to make a long story short, I went against my word and played. Within a short amount of time, I received my second technical foul and was promptly thrown out of the game. In order to participate, the following season, I had to have permission granted from my parents and my church leaders. My parents were going to know about this incident. I went home and informed my parents of my stupidity. It was a hard lesson for me to learn. Moral of this story. Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Do what you say you are going to do...all of the time! That one experience taught me a lesson I haven't forgotten nor will I ever forget.

He Seemed All Alone.

Between St. Louis and Kansas City, I saw a man walking all alone. He was talking on a cell phone so I figured that he was not just stranded out in the middle of nowhere. He was on a 'frontage road' on the other side of the freeway. My mind couldn't help but draw a parallel between that experience and those who are really 'walking alone' in life. Maybe some of you can relate to that path when you have felt like you were all alone. Let me first state that we are never trully alone. My heart aches for those individuals who tread the pathways of loneliness, either because of average decision-making or by no fault of their own. I have never felt completely and utterly alone. To those of you that have, I ask that you do all that you can so that others don't have to feel that same way. There are many who struggle, without even a strand of hope to hold on to, but we can be that single ray of hope that is all the help they really need. I needed a valuable reminder from the man across the freeway, to help me remember those who long for the help that they so desperately need. I want to be that help. I want to be 'in tune' so that when an urging comes to help someone else, that I will be ready. More importantly, still, is that my eyes and ears will be open and ready to react when the need of another is there. We are blessed, beyond measure!

The Blessings Are Too Many To Count

We arrived safely in Castle Rock, CO. We are grateful to be safe and to have had a good drive from St. Louis. We are so thankful for the bounty we feel in our lives. The generosity that we feel from our family is quite overwhelming at times. All we can say is thank you, thank you, thank you! We love our friends and our family.

Baseball, Hot Dogs, and Peanuts

We were given tickets to attend today's afternoon baseball game at Busch Stadium, here in St. Louis.  I love to go watch baseball in person.  It reminds me of the many games my dad took us to when we were younger.  The Oakland A's and the San Francisco Giants were both fun to watch play because there were players with names like Clark, Thompson, Uribe, Brenly, Williams, Davis, McGuire, Canseco, Eckersley, Lansford, Henderson, Cey, Jackson.  That is just to name a few.  There isn't a better professional sport to watch, in my opinion, in person.  The smell of the freshly cut grass, the immaculate lines that are chalked, the pitcher's mound grooming is a complete art form.  There is a 'buzz' with everyone at the game.
The concessions never taste better than at the ballpark.  I am anticipating this game today will be one that the boys and I will remember for a very long time.  Our seats are right behind home plate so I'm excited to hear the loud call of the home plate umpire as he calls out the 'balls and strikes'.
It's a hot and humid day here in St. Louis but the game will go on and I will be smiling, the whole time.  Play Ball!

Sing A Song

We went to the Missouri Botanical Gardens, last night, to see the beautiful Chinese lantern display all lit up.  It was stunning! 
Some friends of my brother and sister-in-law were also there with us.  One of the young boys in the family has autism.  He is such a nice ten year-old.  Toward the end of the night, the young boy approached me and asked me what song I liked to sing.  I told him that I liked to sing, "We Thank Thee, O God For a Prophet."  That is a favorite church song that I have liked since I was a young boy.  It's lyrics are enlightening and hopeful to my soul.

"We thank thee, O God for a prophet, to guide us in these latter days.  We thank thee for sending the gospel, to lighten our minds with it's rays.  We thank thee for every blessing, bestowed by thy bounteous hand.  We feel it a pleasure to serve thee.  And love to obey thy commands.  When dark clouds of trouble hang o'er us, and threaten our peace to destroy.  There is hope smiling brightly before us, and we know that deliv'rance is nigh.  We doubt not the Lord nor His goodness.  We've proved Him in days that are past.  The wicked who fight against Zion will surely be smitten at last.  We'll sing of His goodness and mercy, we'll praise Him by day and by night.  Rejoice in His glorious gospel and bask in it's life giving light.  Thus onto eternal perfection the honest and faithful will go.  While they who reject this glad message shall never such happiness know."

Each one of us has a song whose lyrics touch our very soul.  When your heart is troubled, those lyrics will act as a strength.  This young ten year-old reminded me of a favorite song and my heart is enlightened today.