A Late but Welcome Christmas Gift

I have been remiss in posting to this blog over the past month and was recently reminded by one of our Elders that many people actually read my musings and look forward to them. (Waves at Mother Brown!) I apologize for not posting sooner or more often, but things have been insane around the months leading up to Christmas and I have been working a very tiring seasonal job which has left me with very little energy. However, since I view this blog as both part of my ongoing journal and testimony about my faith, I will make an honest effort to be more prompt in my postings. (If for no other reason than it will stop Mother Brown from asking her son why I haven't posted recently. :))

I have lost count of how many times I have posted blogs about our amazing Elders and how lucky my wife and I were in having them guide us in the kind of rapid journey we underwent in a few short months. We have been gifted with so many different young men and women who have helped us and taught us while making themselves an integral part of our lives. We literally would not be where we are without their love and patience. God Bless them all.

However, there is always a bit of sadness when I ponder this because there is one huge disadvantage to meeting these amazing young people and getting to know them. Eventually, no matter how much you wish otherwise, they go away. They get transferred to another area where people might need them more or they finish their missions and return home to live the lives that they have earned. No matter what happens, the guard changes and new faces appear. That is the natural order of things and I really wouldn't have it any other way no matter how painful the partings.

The current crop of Elders keeping an eye on us are especially wonderful. They have literally become part of our family even to the point of coming over for Christmas Day for dinner. One even gave us an amazing gift of a Sticker that proudly states, “Someone in Texas loves us.” They brighten my day every time they come over and they are more helpful than I probably deserve. I mean lets face it, young people who are willing to literally pick up the copious amounts of waste left by two very large dogs while we had to go out of town are way more than I deserve. Not mention hauling heavy loads and other tasks. I love them all.

So needless to say, we faced last week with more than a little bit of trepidation because we KNEW that at least one or two of our Elders would be rotated out. We were completely certain that one would leave because he had already been here forever and a day. I selfishly prayed to Heavenly Father to keep them all here even though I knew there had to be people out there who needed them more than me simply because I would miss them so badly once they were gone.

I guess my prayers weren't so selfish after all because on the day we were to find out who was being transferred, we found out that none of our Elders would be leaving us this period. I guess Heaven decided that they were still needed here. Saying the reactions when Brown told us the news was Jubilant would be the understatement of the decade.

I know eventually these amazing young men and women will leave us and I support this. There have to be people out there who need them as much as we did when all of this started. When they leave I will hug them all and wish them well. When the new Elders arrive, they will be greeted just like their predecessors were. However, at least for a few weeks, I can keep the young people who have become family close to me and enjoy their company. Prayers do get answered, even if they may be a bit selfish.

Amen