It really has been too long since I made an entry. So...for anyone (both of you) who really visits here, this is the latest. I really don't mind blogging, but I recognize that this is a visual medium and I just haven't taken the time to master the nuances of pix and video entries. I apologize for the boring text-only content of this blog.
The past few weeks have been quite impressive to me. Some of our very best friends have been sealed in the Temple. It has been a great opportunity to witness these events and to be a tiny part of it. What a privilege to be able to interview them and to sign their recommends!
I've learned some very important things: 1) Sometimes you just have to keep on keeping on even though you are not seeing light at the end of the tunnel. 2) Personal spiritual progress is accelerated when we move forward with faith and make the covenants. Conversely, our personal spiritual progress is slowed when we evade the covenants. 3) If we are left alone to gauge our own spiritual readiness we usually measure ourselves short. 4) Great blessings almost immediately follow after we proceed with faith.
We're also in the middle of bidding some of our best friends farewell as they depart for full-time missionary service. This has been very interesting as well. I've had the privilege of interviewing and recommending them and waiting with them for the calls to come. One of my favorite things to do is stand on the sidelines and cheer the missionaries on during this process. I get really excited for them and I count the days for the call to come and then I count the days until they report to the MTC.
This has been a bit different for me. As I've mentally put myself in their shoes I've come to realize what a sacrifice they are making. These are very capable people, full of faith and unquestionably devoted. Though they are entering into a sacred service, with all the attendant blessings that will inevitably ensue, it is not easy to uproot yourself, even temporarily, and leave dear friends, children and grandchildren and the familiar surroundings of comfortable homes to go to a foreign country, learn a new language and try to adapt a lifetime of routines, habits and expectations to new customs, new foods, new schedules and a way of life that is completely different. I've learned to appreciate these great people even more.
I am really looking forward to the feelings that will come as they are set apart for their callings.
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2 comments:
Dad, great to have you posting again! I will miss the Bairds too. What a great opportunity. Your blog is still interesting even without pictures and videos!!
Go Bairds! You can do it!
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