Enduring Together

My thoughts from Bishop Edgley's talk "Endurign Together"

I’ve always thought the call of “Presiding Bishop” was a funny calling, but as I’ve gotten older I have noticed what kinds of talks members of the Presiding Bishopric give. They give talks like any bishop would. They tell us as members of the church how to act and behave in our ward families. Bishop Edgley gave such a talk.

I don’t live in Utah, but understand how geographically small some of the wards can be. I remember living in Orem just after I got married and our ward was about three square blocks. We don’t have that luxury here. We visit teach people a few miles away. I do have a friend in Montana who visit teaches someone who lives in the next county and it takes her 90 minutes to get to her house. They do a lot of phone visiting teaching. ~smile~

I have been the recipient of such service. (boy this is hard!) It has been almost exactly five years ago when I was in such an auto accident that rallied the ward members around my family. It happened in the very early hours of the morning: 5:30 and when my husband got the call he called one member of the ward to come be with the kids when they woke up and found no parents there because one was in the hospital and the other was with her. Because it was the start of the day, he called a seminary teacher. She came long enough for Steve to leave and the next sister to get there before she headed off to do her duty. By the time I got home about five hours later, I think I had five sisters walk through my home, picking things up, getting kids ready for the day (their ages were 2-11), hold family prayer (my kids reported that every sister who came made them say a prayer for me) and then within five minutes of the car pulling up I had two Priesthood holders at my home to give me a blessing.

For the next three months, meals were delivered magically, sisters showed up when I had to run to doctor appointments and somehow the house stayed clean. I know the insurance company paid for maid service, but they only came once a week and still my house stayed clean.

I wish I hadn’t had a concussion so I could have sent all those sisters thank you cards, but I honestly don’t remember much from the accident to new year’s Eve six weeks later. But I don’t know who brought dinner or cleaned my house.

It was a year ago this month that I got a phone call from a dear friend, my visiting teacher and she told me that her mother had just been killed in an auto accident. Of course the wheels were set in motion and dinner was brought over (my kids LOVE taking dinner over!) and her home was taken care of. Of course many of the travel arrangements she had to make, but she knew that what was left at home would be taken care of (dog, food that will spoil, dirty clothes piled in heaps, etc.) We literally stole the front door key from her and took care of her home while she was away.

Enduring together is a very good way of bonding a ward. When I was a young girl my best friend was in and out of the hospital a lot with cystic fibrosis and I remember how the ward would rally around the family. I remember when a family was in a horrible auto accident and two of their children were killed, how we rallied around them.

Here is a thought from someone who is constantly asked, “Is there anything I can do for you.” My answer will be no, even if my heart says, “yes.” Don’t ask if you can do the laundry, just do it. Don’t ask if you can do the dishes, just come and do them. I will not ask you to do my jobs. In a time of need, I won’t ask for help. I’m in too much shock or embarrassment, or will let pride stand in my way of accepting help. Just bring the dinner, bring the willing hands and endure with me. I don’t need to suffer in silence but I will turn you away because I do not know how to ask for help.