Hi Sammy!
Your summer has come to a close. You are one year older and
back in school. Time marches on. Did you enjoy all your vacations? I hope you
enjoy school this year. You will if you work hard and do all your homework.
School isn’t quite as fun if you fall behind. Nobody can make you keep up, but
it will surely be worth it if you do.
As you know, I work at a school near my house, teaching
reading and writing. Part of my preparations each day includes keeping the
colored pencils sharpened. One day I ran across a pencil called Caran D'Ache Pablo. I
thought to myself. That’s odd. Being curious as always, I tried it. Oh, my
goodness, Sammy, it went on like butter on hot toast. Now my PrismaColor seem
like Crayola crayons. Sigh…..I’ll ask Papa to get me a set of Pablos for my birthday. I sure hope he
does.
Teaching my children to read and write and compute delighted
me to no end. I missed it terribly, when everyone grew up. Now that I work at
the school, there is a never-ending stream of children begging me to teach them
language skills. I would love to teach botany, zoology, arithmetic, geometry,
algebra, and art, too, but other teachers teach those things. I gratefully take
what I can get and feel so blessed.
Papa put in a dog door last week. This morning Dash was out
on the patio, while I was studying my scriptures at the kitchen table. Madly
barking, Dash bolted in the door. As she continued her unquietable barking,
shaking, and growling, I heard a scream. Looking out the window, I saw what
made her so upset. Three nearly grown coyote pups chomped on a rabbit. Needless
to say, I shut the dog door until the stream of golfers started coming by the
fence. (You know the golfers scare coyotes, so we don’t see coyotes and golfers
at the same time.)
Last week I worried about something I have no control over.
Yes, I know all the worry in the world never solved one problem. But mothers
will worry about their children. Anyway, as I fell asleep, I pleaded with
Heavenly Father to take the burden of worry from my mind. In the temple, I was
told that everything would work out as it should but maybe not in this life. I
should accept things, be kind always, and joyfully go on with my life. That
helped a lot. The next morning I woke up earlier than usual, singing “Be Still
My Soul.” God really wants me to let Him handle things, so I will. Here are the
words to that song.
Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In ev'ry change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav'nly Friend
Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as he has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.
Be still, my soul: The hour is hast'ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.
So, even though there may still be bumps in that road, I
know God is in charge. He cares about me. All things will work together for my
good if I trust in Him. Because this song is so special to me now, you can just
believe I added it to my daily violin hymn playing.
Sammy, prayer works. For a long time, I didn’t understand
it. But, I kept praying again and again until I felt the Holy Ghost whispering
truth. Now, I often get answers like the above and the one I got last summer
for you and Quinn. Remember that? I also know that God talks to us through the
scriptures, when we make studying them a regular part of our lives. Just like
schoolwork, nobody can make you pray or study scriptures in a way that you
really learn all there is to learn. You have to want it badly enough to put in
the effort. I pray that you will gain a testimony of these things. Your life
will be so much happier if you do.
Love Ya Lots!
Grammy
Grammy, she could eat no fat,
And she refused to eat any lean.
And so God’s creatures lived in peace,
As she dined on beans and greens.
