-
Sabbath Devotional :: Community
I think one of the most beautiful things about my faith tradition is the ways it embodies community. This week I was reading a social media post from a political/community organizer I follow who recently had a medical procedure, and they were mourning the lack of community in their life as they were dealing with their recovery and some of the limitations and hardships they were experiencing. I thought back to the many times my ward communities have shown up for me, from my ministering sisters bringing me dinner after I had a minor surgery a few years ago, to a bishopric member sending a thoughtful text to check in…
-
Sabbath Devotional :: Daughter, Be of Good Comfort
This is a complicated holiday for so many of us. I remember leaving a Mother’s Day Sacrament Meeting many years ago after one of my miscarriages and crying in the car in the parking lot, clutching the potted geranium. You are not alone. And I’m guessing most of us have sorrows and heartaches and inadequacies that a flower or chocolate today won’t fix. What we thought would be happily ever after is hard. And what was meant to be a day to honor women ends up idealizing unmet expectations and highlighting perceived inadequacies. And even if it is not hard for you personally, it is a valuable opportunity to practice…
-
Sabbath Devotional :: I Will Just Be Me
When my daughter was little, she was drawing pictures during sacrament meeting. She drew a picture of a person wearing a cape. There was a word bubble that said, “I am a superhero. But I do not know how to be a superhero, so I am just be me.” Despite the glaring grammatical error, I thought that was profound, especially considering that she drew the picture on Mother’s Day. I had never seen such a perfect representation of motherhood, or womanhood in general. Those who praise women often make them out to be superheroes, saints, or angels. But back here on earth, women everywhere are saying, “I do not know…
-
Sabbath Devotional :: From Grave to Garden
Earlier this month, I had an opportunity to attend a craft workshop on the Japanese art form of kintsugi, which involves gluing broken pottery back together and coloring the cracks with gold paint. Smashing a perfectly new white bowl with a hammer felt wrong, but the process of fitting the pieces in, repairing it, gluing it, painting it, and decorating it with gold flourishes, making an even more beautiful bowl, was very satisfying. The flaws and faults and broken parts are redeemed into an even better creation. God promises a similar redemption to each of us. I love the line in the hymn How Firm a Foundation: “The rivers of…
-
Sabbath Devotional :: Eclipsed Expectations
This month, I joined millions of Americans in an effort to encounter the celestial: watching the total solar eclipse. The experience wasn’t what I expected; it was beautiful, but I couldn’t help feeling FOMO (fear of missing out), disappointed that it had been better for other people at other locations. This ambivalence can characterize many of our heavenly encounters. With the renewed emphasis on the temple at General Conference, how we can approach our interactions with the heavens with an eye towards gratitude, grace, and God? I missed the 2017 eclipse, but that increased my desire to see this one. Plotting maps years ago, Austin, Texas looked like a good…
-
Sabbath Devotional :: Parental Love
I have always loved these verses in Matthew 7: 9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? As I move through the world, I am constantly reminded of the gifts of loving Heavenly parents and of their care and concern for me. Often I feel God’s love through the beauty and solace…
-
Sabbath Devotional :: Concentrated and Consecrated Grief Leads to Joy in Christ
Two years ago, I spoke in my ward’s Sacrament Meeting on Easter and one year ago, I shared that talk as a devotional with my MWEG sisters. For some reason, sharing an Easter message feels even more daunting this year! You each have access to thousands of beautiful essays, talks, poems, images, and meditations on Holy Week. What could I possibly add to that body of work by exceptional writers and artists? When I begin questioning the worth of my own thoughts like this, I find it best to return to the simplicity of my testimony and particular circumstances rather than seek for something grand. After completing that exercise over the past…
-
Sabbath Devotional :: Mary Magdalene
As we begin Holy Week, my thoughts are drawn to Mary Magdelene on that first Easter morning. “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre” (John 20:1) Thinking perhaps that the body of Christ had been stolen, Mary ran to tell Peter and John. They all ran back to the sepulchre to see for themselves. Not sure of what was going on, the men left to go home. “But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping” (John 20:11). She saw Jesus in the garden, but supposed Him to be the gardener,…
-
Sabbath Devotional :: The Artifice of Fear
“God hath not given us the spirit of fear.” ~2 Timothy 1:7 “Perfect love casteth out fear.” ~ 1 John 4:18 Fear is a frequently invoked motivating force in our world today. Parents use it, marketers use it, and friends use it. It has been used for generations. On the lighthearted end, we have the phrase and culture of “fear of missing out.” On the darker side, we have politicians and forces who use fear to “other” and dehumanize, to divide and stir up conflict intentionally. Fear-motivated anything can lead to bad results; fear-motivated politics can lead to particularly horrific results, especially when coupled with violent rhetoric. History proves that.…
-
Sabbath Devotional :: Blessed are the Peacemakers
I have been thinking of the Savior’s assurance in John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” This is a remarkable promise that we will always have and be able to feel peace, as we draw near to the Savior and His teachings. In the verse prior, the Lord speaks about the Holy Ghost and its influence and this is another way we can experience the Savior’s peace. As I pondered on this verse, I considered what it means for the Savior to give versus…
