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A New Format

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This blog has been a journey I have enjoyed.  Taking an email I have been writing for many years, creating a blog and then entering the world of social media and posting my stories on Instagram and Facebook has pushed my comfort zone.  As part of the journey, I have decided to discontinue the blog.  I will still send stories by email, including you all on the mailing list and post on social media beginning this week.  Please feel free to respond “unsubscribe” to my emails at any time and I will remove you from the list. 

Thank you for your encouragement and support!  I look forward to continuing to walk together in faith.

Hands

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With a house full of young children and so many demands on their time, my parents were attending a formal dinner.  They were all dressed up and enjoying the conversation.  At one point in the dinner, Mom looked down at her hands and quickly excused herself to use the restroom to give herself a chance to wipe the tears that filled her eyes. She had given herself to her work and in that moment she saw the effect of that work on her hands.

When the resurrected Savior appeared to His apostles in the old world, His disciples in the new and so many others, He did so with outstretched hands.  He invited them to come see the marks in His hands, a constant reminder of His love and sacrifice for us.  So they would understand that He could never forget them, He reminded, “I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands…” (Isaiah 49:16)

That night when my mother looked at her hands, she also

saw the marks of her love and sacrifice.  She saw the work of teaching her children to work, the cultivation of a garden and beautiful flowers, meals prepared,  and back scratches at night.  Those hands taught me how to clean a mirror, hold and feed a baby, change a diaper, iron a shirt, and soothe a fevered brow.  Those hands turned the pages of the books she read for herself and to us, they wrote out notes of love, played the piano and cheered for me.  Her hands wrote scriptures on cards that she taught us to memorize and carried a red cassette player her through the house so she could hear the words of prophets.  Those hands have been clasped in prayer for her loved ones and have so often calmed my fears.  

“Christ did not just speak about love; He showed it each day of His life….Jesus reached out to the one. He rescued the lost… He not only taught but also showed us how to ‘succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.’” (President Dieter F. Uchtorf, April 2010)

When our hands reach out to care for and to lift the hands, minds and hearts of the children of God we are doing His work and He “will not leave [us] comfortless. [He] will come to [us].” (John 14:18)

Remember Together

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Recently we drove across the country noting the woods, mountains, miles of fields, and windswept ranges. Each area is so different; different landscapes, different people, different dialects, different thoughts and different ways of doing things. 
  
While driving west on I-74 near LeRoy, Illinois, a sign proclaiming this stretch of highway to be the Gaultney Brothers Memorial Highway caught my attention.  Ralph, Leonard, and David Gaultney were three brothers from this small farming community who gave their lives in the service of our country during WWII.  Ralph was on the U.S.S. Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Leonard’s ship was sunk during the Battle of the Solomon Islands and David gave his life in the Battle of Iwo Jima.  While the loss of these three sons and brothers was distinctive, the loss and service of sons and daughters has been shared by the families of the often disparate people of our country.  

From the very beginning of our country, we have been different from each other.  From the Green Mountain Boys of Vermont to the merchant marines of the coast who faced the greatest navy in the world, the backwoods farmers who appeared at Kings Mountain, defeated the British and then melted back into the woods. They were the planters of Virginia, the attorneys and merchants of New England and the women and children who were willing to shoulder the burdens required to “Live Free…”  No one group could establish the freedom they all craved but together freedom came to pass.

Those differences still exist and have caused bitter disputes throughout our history.  Yet again and again we have found that our divergent experiences and capacities are part of our strength. The Gaultney brothers and all those who have stood to defend us didn’t give their lives only for those that they agreed with or those from their small town, they gave their lives for all Americans whatever their thoughts and views, wherever they lived. We remember their sacrifices and understand that it is together, with all our differences, that freedom is still established.

Life Filter

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On Thursday, I sat in a chair while several people took their turns poking and prodding the veins of my inner arms so that I could give blood.  They finally decided on a vein, made the poke and I watched my blood fill a plastic bag.  As it does every time, my mind goes back to when the flow of blood went the opposite direction.  I give because I have been given much.
 
A doctor stood at the foot of my hospital bed.  I could hear him, I knew the words he was speaking, but my mind could not make any meaning from them.  While I had no gaping wound, the level of blood in my veins was dropping.  I was bleeding internally.   As an ultrasound tech searched for the source of the bleeding, she found something else, a 

large blood clot forming just below my heart.  To treat the clot would exacerbate the bleeding and to stop the bleeding would enhance the clot so a filter was placed in my vein to hold back the clot, the bleeding was stopped, and someone else’s blood flowed into my veins.  

As I began to recover, I saw my experience as an analogy of the atonement of Jesus Christ.  When we begin to truly “trust in His redeeming blood”, a filter enters our lives, the filter of His love, our worth and His cleansing power.  That filter increases our confidence to hold back the doubts, fears, and anxiety that come with our weakness and mortality.  As His redeeming blood begins to infuse our lives it brings clarity to confused minds and strength to every part of our souls.  His redeeming blood makes whole and, in His time, heals everything it touches.  
 
“I plead with you to come unto Him so that He can heal you! He will heal you from sin as you repent. He will heal you from sadness and fear. He will heal you from the wounds of this world. Whatever questions or problems you have, the answer is always found in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Learn more about His Atonement, His love, His mercy, His doctrine, and His restored gospel of healing and progression. Turn to Him! Follow Him!” (President Russell M. Nelson, April 2023)
 
Jesus Christ is the answer to our every hope, every sorrow, every joy, every weakness.  He knows them all and knows how to make us whole and healed.  “Turn to Him!”
 

Mother the World

A new mother with little experience with children, my mother often credited a calling to serve as the “Mother Education” teacher in Relief Society as a gift to her and our family. She learned as she taught.  My earliest memories of Relief Society were playing on the gym floor of the church building under the quilts my mother and the Relief Society sisters were tying, a lovely bit of chaos.  No one seemed to mind the mix of serving, talking, loving and children playing.  

Relief Society sisters have nurtured me throughout my life.  They were my Primary teachers and my Young Women’s leaders and surrounded my life with their faith and care.  I still live in the area I grew up in and the same women who taught me as a child have valued me as an adult and continue to nurture me and my family, teaching and 

encouraging my children as they did me.  Their faith, words, examples and even their weakness have sometimes been the answers to the prayers my heart has been praying.  They have extended their friendship, their laughter and when my need has required, they have fed us.  

As a Relief Society president, I saw needs I could not meet and then came the sweeping realization that I stood at the head of an army of angels who possessed great strength and were ready to do the “errand of angels,” to “feed His sheep” and with their presence bear witness of the strength and power that comes from drawing near to Jesus Christ.  A wise mother counseled, “…tie yourself to Relief Society, Relief Society will be your mother.”  (Sister Julie Beck, October 2008) Relief Society will be your mother.  Relief Society will be my mother.  “Charity never faileth” because charity is the pure love of Jesus Christ.    

On the road to Emmaus, as Jesus “sat at meat with them…their eyes were opened, and they knew Him…” (Luke 24:27,30).  His presence can often go unrecognized.  We may not always see Him as we seek to serve, but there is virtue, there is power in womanhood and as we walk with Him organized by His power, “we will do something extraordinary.” Together we can “mother” every child of God.

Imprint of Love

As a child, I loved simple days spent with my grandma. One morning while visiting her house, she found me a loosely stitched “purse” to carry my “treasures” in. We strolled down her street where I collected chestnuts that had fallen from a large tree. I perched beside her on the bus with my hand poised waiting for her signal to pull the cord alerting the driver that the next stop was ours. The memory is wrapped in a feeling of peace, confidence and the warmth I felt with her.

At the time, I didn’t know much about my grandma and her story. I didn’t know how much she loved her childhood West Virginia home, her family, the woods, the horses and the feel of dirt under her bare feet. I didn’t know that her generosity stemmed from her mother who lived by the maxim, “If you don’t give what you have, you’ll never have 

anything to give.” I didn’t know that she had left the home she loved so much to pursue a career in nursing, graduating from the Medical College of Virginia in 1934. I didn’t know that she had been married and divorced before she met Grandpa and gave birth to their three sons. I didn’t know that her ability to see silver linings allowed her to be cheerful in many difficult circumstances.

What I did know is that she loved me and that love left an indelible imprint on my heart. I am different because of her love. I feel more assurance and optimism because of her love. I see others with more compassion because of her love. I love better because of her love. Grandma touched the lives of thousands she cared for in her decades working as a nurse and she changed forever the lives of those who were her own.

“It takes great love to feel the needs of someone else more than your own. That is the pure love of Christ for the person you nurture….As daughters of God, you have an innate and great capacity to sense the needs of others and to love…. Your trust from God is to nurture as many of His and your family members as you can with your love and your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.” (President Henry B. Eyring, October 2018)

His love and your love will change everything.

Shifting Sand

Years ago on vacation, our family took a day excursion to Cape Cod. Essentially a giant sand bar jutting into the ocean, I was amazed to learn that the coastline of Cape Cod sees changes between 3 and 15 feet each year as the winds and ocean beat against the shore, at times pulling the sand away and at other times depositing it. We live in a turbulent world where time honored traditions are shifting quickly, are left behind and the future is full of complexity and concern. No one is immune to the shifting sands and it can be hard to look to the future with optimism.

As my husband and I approached our wedding day, I was both thrilled and fearful about the upcoming future.  We received a great deal of well meant advice about the difficulties and joys that lay ahead and one evening my sweetheart found me distraught and overwhelmed by the anticipation of hardship ahead.  I wasn’t sure I was cut out for it.  His response came from the words of Robert Browning, “Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be.”
 
Looking back, I can see that all of the people who gave advice were right.  We have shared some difficult days, weeks, months and years.  Remarkably, it is those same days, weeks, months and years that have shaped us, taught us, and allowed us to receive our greatest joys. Joy does not come independent of struggle.  The two are mingled together and necessary for our growth and for our ultimate destiny of knowing as He knows, seeing as He sees, loving as He loves and enjoying as He enjoys.  Though we experience sorrow, the cure for every sorrow is already in place.  Jesus Christ is the cure.
 
“The Lord… will strengthen you. He will bless you with peace, even amidst chaos….If you will make and keep covenants to follow Jesus Christ, you will find that the painful moments of your life are temporary. Your afflictions will be “swallowed up in the joy of Christ.”…The best is yet to come…because the Savior is coming again! The best is yet to come because the Lord is hastening His work. The best is yet to come as we fully turn our hearts and our lives to Jesus Christ.” (President Russell M. Nelson, October 2024)
 
Keep walking, press forward, the best is yet to come.
 

Our Department

Earlier this year, the new Masters champion, Rory McIlroy, was experimenting with a new set of irons and wedges at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.  After three rounds, he knew the experiment was a mistake, but his tried and true set was a two and a half hour car ride from the tournament.  His team opted to have his clubs brought to the course by Uber.  At a press conference, a reporter asked how much it had cost to have his clubs delivered to which McIlroy responded, “No idea, not my department.” (Golfweek, March 14, 2025)
 
We live in a world saturated by information, distractions and more good opportunities than we can ever fulfill often leaving us stretched thin and weary.  With so many cares and concerns, it can be difficult to discern what our “department” is, what our highest priorities should be and which things we need not concern ourselves with right now.  The Savior found Martha at such a moment and led her with His simple observation, “…Thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful.” (Luke 10:41-42)
 
Years ago, President Nelson encouraged us to study the scriptures by using citations under the heading of Jesus Christ in the Topical Guide as our course.  This is a practice I have started and stopped many times.  I don’t think I have ever made it all the way through but I have found that when I feel anxious or weary or concerned, if I turn to the Topical Guide and tap on scriptures under the heading Jesus Christ, it doesn’t take long for peace to start to seep into my heart and mind.  Jesus Christ is the One needful thing.  With our focus on Him we see our “department” with more clarity, more insight, more hope and more trust that He will fulfill His “department”.
 
“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” (John 14:26–27).
 
He is with us.

Better Than We Can Imagine

Earlier this week, my husband and I were in West Virginia watching our daughter, Sydney, compete with the Southern Virginia University women’s golf team at The Greenbrier Intercollegiate. Last year Sydney had a disappointing first round followed by a magical seven under par second round with a birdie on the last hole to win the tournament.

This year she was the defending champion and felt the expectations that come with it. Monday morning, her stomach was tied in knots and she couldn’t eat. The night before as sleep was slow to come, she looked for a thought, an idea that she use to counteract all the negative “What if’s” in her head and found, “What if it all turns out better than you could imagine?”

She teed off the first tee into the deep right rough, chipped to the green with a two putt par and played solid golf for the first nine holes.  She was one over at the turn before making six birdies, and a bogey, on the back nine to shoot four under par. She was leading by three strokes. That night, a cold front came through with a cool, gusty wind that made the temperature feel like 25 degrees. After three holes, Sydney was three over and her tee ball on the fourth hole went right into the deep rough just a few feet from out of bounds. She hit a good shot to the fairway and then landed her third shot three feet from the hole which she put in for birdie. For the rest of the round, she made a birdie for every bogey, scrambled to save par and refused to give up when there were errant shots and at the end on the last hole, she made her par putt to win again. It was better than we could have imagined!

Every so often life hands us moments that are better than we could imagine.  They give us hope and help us to believe in the promises of the our Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.  “Therefore, lift up your heads and rejoice and put your trust in God…who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, and caused that they should walk through the Red Sea on dry ground and fed them manna…” “Ye are of God, little children…greater is He that is in you, than He that is in the world.” “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (Mosiah 7:9; 1 John 4:4; John 16:33)
 
We can rejoice now because He is Risen and when it is done, it will all be better than we can imagine!
 

Go Together

My great great grandpa, William A. Caldwell appeared in the records of Greenbrier County, West Virginia in 1891 when he married Rosa A. Hoke and they began their family. Family stories recounted that he had been born in Craig County, Virginia but years of searching yielded no results until two years ago, a DNA match was the catalyst that revealed William’s mother, Mary Jane Elmore, and generations of her family.

As I have come to know Mary Jane’s family, I have wanted to go and explore the area where they lived their lives. In fact, two years ago after dropping my daughter off at school at Southern Virginia University, I found myself with a half day and set off to see what I could see before my flight left. I knew it was rural but as I lost cell coverage while traveling many miles down a gravel road, I realized that the area I wanted to explore contained no gas stations and no cell service. I started rethinking the wisdom of taking the adventure alone, amended my plans, visited some areas that were more populated and left the more rural adventure for another day. That day was this last weekend when my husband and I set off with a full tank of gas, plenty of snacks and water, and a downloaded map with Google

coordinates for the home Mary Jane would have grown up in and the cemetery where her mother was buried.

As we set off into the “wilderness”, I considered the ancestral line that settled here.  Theirs was a journey much more formidable.  These ancestors had come to Virginia in the 1600’s, settling first on the eastern seaboard and over generations, migrated south and west into North Carolina and finally north into western Virginia.  And just as I didn’t make the journey alone, they didn’t either.  They went in families; husbands, wives, and children, often following in the footsteps or being followed by the families of siblings, friends, and neighbors.  They seemed to understand the African proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.”  
 
As families we too can feel that we are on the edge of the “wilderness” of life with so much unknown, but as we move forward, we can “choose the faithful posture of our prophet when he promises miracles in our families…a recapturing, or an echo, of the faith we had before we came to this planet.  It sees past the uncertainty of a moment, allowing us to ‘cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then…stand still.'” (Sister Tamara Runia, October 2023)
 
Families are the center of the Creator’s plan.  We trusted Him in the beginning, we can trust Him now.