Let me describe our saturday...
The day started with pouring rain. Merry Christmas? Josh and Abraham were supposed to get baptized at 11 but that's when they showed up and their parents dropped them off rather than sticking around to sign the baptismal record so we had to wait for a half hour with everyone sitting their patiently until the dad came back to sign the paper so they could actually get baptized. They said the wrong name when they baptized Josh (the 9 yr. old) luckily we corrected it before he went under the water. When the baptism was finished we went with Sister Davis to take Godelive to the temple and on the way a dog ran into our car, I repeat INTO THE SIDE OF THE CAR WITH HIS FACE. Sister Davis tried to slow down but there was no hope, she was going down a 40 mph limit road and the dog wasn't stopping for anything. She got out to find the dog who had apparently gotten hit by another car right after but he was gone. When we got to the temple, Ines forgot her recommend so we went up to the front desk and almost got swallowed in the mass of wedding brigades. BUT, everything worked out! somehow, by a miracle, everything worked out and the boys were baptized and Godelive got to go to the temple and it eventually it stopped raining. Which just goes to show that no matter how many negative things happen, even when it feels like everything is going wrong, looking at what went right changes your entire perspective. Looking back on the day I have to sing a few hallelujahs in my head and smile:)
We had the opportunity to go to a service project on Saturday morning where we took low-income families around to pick out christmas gifts and listening to the kids got me thinking about selfishness vs. selflessness. Despite the few letters difference in the two words, they are complete opposites. At one station, one of the kids we were with saw headphones and said "I need headphones, mom can we get those?" Immediately her sister snapped "no, I need them because YOU are always breaking mine!" Hearing the selfish exchange made me sick, though I'm sure my siblings and I got into similar quarrels growing up. It feels so much better to give than to receive, because that is when we choose to act like christ rather than our natural selves. We all have pride and selfishness, but we can choose the good over the evil if we simply practice a little self-control and take the time to think "what do others need?" rather than "what do I need". I am in no way perfect at that but it is a lifetime pursuit to take on the character of Christ, which is to always turn outward rather than inward. That is the gift I will try to give to him this year. I invite you all to think of how you can be a little less selfish and a little more selfless and I promise you'll discover nothing but unimaginable joy in your heart, so great that you'll feel like bursting! Merry Christmas to you!
Love,
Sister Pearson
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