Come What May

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference. (The Serenity Prayer, Reinhold Niebuhr) The past few months I’ve been able to work as a direct care technician in a care center for intellectually disabled children and adults. I’ve discovered that sometimes life is not so pretty. Some feet are webbed, some eyes are blind, some backs are crooked, and some people eat their poop. Sometimes when I look at my sweet boys and girls I just want them to be normal. I want them to be able to get out of their wheelchairs, to walk around the block when they need some fresh air, to taste food, to stop playing in the toilet every half hour. I want them to enjoy simple pleasures of life and most especially I want them to go home and be with their families more than is now possible. I know there are others with even more difficult lives and it is hard for me to imagine. These boys and girls are special people....

A little talk on Family History. While Joseph Smith was in Liberty Jail in 1839 he wrote an epistle to the church.  The end of that epistle is D&C 123:17: “Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.” When I read that scripture my question is what things lie in my power and how do I them cheerfully? I hope that we all think about our participation in and attitude towards God’s work of salvation.  What more can we do for the Lord? Two years ago I was called to be a missionary in the Chile Osorno Mission. I served there for 6 months until I got sick and came home early. For a long time after my mission I was very sick and very dependent on other people. On occasion I wouldn’t even eat until my brother came home from school to feed me because I couldn’t get up and walk to the kitchen by myself. I didn’t like...

“Heavenly Father, are you really there? And do you hear and answer every child’s prayer?” (A Child’s Prayer) Someday I would like to be a bit more polished, punctual, graceful, cheerful, competent, and put together; but since that is not going to happen any time soon I am learning to make do.  On this particular Monday morning I was a bit of a mess.  I slept in too long and woke with a sore throat, lost my keys, had a dead battery and a broken phone charger, failed a quiz, failed a test, forgot my calculator, forgot my pencil, missed class, and even found out about a charge for overdue library books from 4 months ago in a moment of desperation. Then I went to work.  I am a direct care technician at a care center for disabled people. I generally anticipate being hit, pinched, having my hair pulled, or getting knocked into at least once or twice throughout the day. That’s in addition to the feeding, showering, and changing of diapers. (Sounds like motherhood, I kno...

“Wrinkles should merely indicate where the smiles have been” (Mark Twain). At age 21 I have finished serving a 12 month part time mission in the Family History Department.  As one might imagine I have always been kind of a rarity when I put on my name tag each day.  As far as I know, there is a relatively small percentage of young family history missionaries and an even smaller percentage of those attending BYU.  Most of the people I work with have about 30 to 40 years more life experience than I have and I often notice the age gap: when they talk about children, their grandchildren, when they mention that they don’t hear very well, when they bring up their time in the 60s, and most especially when I hear the testimonies, stories, commentaries, and questions indicative of a life full of service and struggles that no 21-year-old can quite understand. I am often touched by the sweet examples of service from my much wiser, more experienced elders.  They were my...

Life as a part-time family history service missionary has been a delight.   This year has been full of tender moments, a few frustrations, and plenty of humor. I have learned a little bit about shortcomings, service, patience, people, family history, and continue to be blessed with a life full of sweet, happy, entertaining moments. Most of my mission was served at a little desk in a little apartment staring at computer screens and answering phone calls and chat rooms. Surprisingly it was never as boring as it sounds.   I was blessed to speak with hundreds and hundreds of incredibly interesting people with lives and problems and histories and opinions that I will never know much about. This year I’ve kept a list of my favorite comments, conversations, (and even some very generous compliments) that made each day a little more enjoyable this year. Here is a taste of my mission life: “Lexie on a scale from one to ten…you’re about a six.” (That’s how Brett comforted me whi...

 " And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind...And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities" (Alma 7:11-12). Every day I get to help people fix up their family pedigree charts editing, deleting, and restoring data.  It’s not a thought everyone considers, but a family tree is quite revealing.  In a matter of minutes I can see important names and dates connected to you, your spouse, your children, your parents, your grandparents, their parents, and so forth.   I can see your newborn daughter, your grandfather’s marriage, your parent’s divorce, the day your mom died, the day your husband died, your uncle’s adoption, your son’s death,...

“O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people! “Yea, I would declare unto every soul…the plan of redemption…that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth” (Alma29:1-2). For the past year I have been serving a part-time FamilySearch Support mission in the Family History Department.  Most people have no idea what that means.  For me it means helping people do their family history.  Every day 15 hours a week, I sit at a computer taking phone calls, chats, and emails from people with questions about their family trees.  I wear a little missionary nametag to church every week and teach lots of family history lessons.  Sometimes I am really good at what I do.  Sometimes I am really bad at what I do, but it’s a work in progress.  In addition...