Snowy Sundays

It was 82 degrees yesterday!  Apparently the snowflakes didn't really care about that, though, because as the temperature dropped rapidly this morning, down they came.  

Craig stayed home sick with a cold, and Emma had a singing engagement at a charity event at the PAC, so three kids and I went to church completely underdressed for the cold front.  I really thought I could get away with heels instead of boots today.  Church was awesome.  I played the organ, which I always love.  I'm so happy that the regular organist lets me sub for her once a month.  And then the testimonies that everyone bore were just really amazing.  Some Sundays are like that, every talk, every connection, every song is just exactly perfect.  I taught our Sunday School class by myself on the Atonement...eek!  But, as usual, I launched them and then those amazing kids actually taught most of the class themselves.  (For a second, I considered taking a quick picture of them teaching each other and posting it on Instagram because they were so dang amazing, but then I thought they might be creeped out by that, so I didn't.)  The Relief Society lesson was awesome, too.  It was entirely based on my favorite General Conference talk of all time and the only quote I have memorized:  "The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the greatest skill we can acquire in this life." - Julie B Beck (oh, I love that so much!)

After church, I looked outside and realized that the snow was coming down harder and people looked like they were heavily bundled to go outside.  As usual, I did not even bring a coat with me.  So I lingered and talked to as many people as I could before committing to walk outside in the Texas blizzard.  And then, the most amazing thing happened (I totally overuse that word, I know, but the day really was THAT amazing!)  I walked to the foyer with McKay (the girls had already driven themselves home) and the nicest boy was standing there at the door waiting for me.  He said, "Sister Thunell, can I walk you to your car?"  Hallelujah!  I enthusiastically said, "Yes, please!" because I knew that I had parked my car at the farthest end of the church parking lot, and that my choice was either to take my life in my own hands and walk across the icy lot in my spiky heels, or to take off my shoes and risk frostbitten feet. Neither sounded very appealing.  Matt let me hold his arm all the way across the parking lot.  And when we arrived at the Jeep, he pulled out his handy ice scraper (why does he even own one of those in Texas?) and scraped all the ice off my windshield.  Have I mentioned how much I love the youth in our ward?  Well, I do.  They are extraordinary kids who continue to surprise me every time I am with them.  

I made a mental note while I was sitting in my frozen car to: 
1) throw a jacket or a blanket in the trunk in case of future unexpected inclement weather 
AND 
2) to make sure to teach my little McKay to be as courteous and thoughtful as Matthew Collins was today.  

I am so grateful for perfect snowy Sundays, for wonderful youth, and to come home to blankets, heat, hot chocolate, and kids who like to snuggle.  

Sunday

Back to church…finally.  Three weeks feels like an eternity to be at home.  But being back in that beautiful building and being welcomed by everyone I had missed was such a great feeling.  There have been times when I would have happily stayed home from church in the past.  In fact, I'm sure I've longed to sit on the couch on more than one Sunday.  But these last three weeks, I've found it very difficult to stay home while my whole family goes to church without me.  

Today, Emma gave a talk about preparing for the Second Coming…holy cow!  What a huge topic for a 13 year old.  She was SO nervous and then just as we were walking from the parking lot to the building, her little shoe broke…ugh…poor thing.  She was nervous, frustrated, and now shoeless while she sat up on the stand waiting to give her talk.  But she did a fantastic job.  Somehow my children have been blessed with an amazing ability to express themselves and find relevant, personal experiences that illustrate whatever topic they've been asked to speak on.  It was so sweet to watch her up there, nervous and a little weepy, but still very confident.  She got so many compliments.  I was so proud of her.  

During the second hour, Craig and I taught our new-ish Sunday School class.  We teach the 16-17 year olds, but until the 18 year olds graduate and go off to college or missions, they'll stay in our class, too.  So along with the 5 additional Sophomores that we've acquired this year, we also have our original 15 Juniors and Seniors…phew!  It's a good thing we have a huge room because 20 kids is A LOT!  I absolutely LOVE them, though.  Craig mostly taught and I mostly filled in the spaces with personal stories, but I can't tell you how happy I was to be back in that classroom surrounded by all those amazing kids.  They have such great insight and they totally inspire me to think harder, and do better, and learn more.  

In Relief Society, we had our first lesson from the new Joseph Fielding Smith manual.  He was an amazing man.  I so enjoyed hearing the history of his life and the graceful, faithful way he endured the many challenges he faced.  The bulk of the lesson was about understanding the divine characteristics of Heavenly Father.   Another weighty topic…but…right in the middle of the lesson, the teacher played this video excerpt of a Conference talk from 2011:

link

Here's what was said…

"Please understand that what you see and experience now is not what forever will be.  You will not feel loneliness, sorrow, pain, or discouragement forever.  We have the faithful promise of God that He will neither forget nor forsake those who incline their hearts to Him.  Have hope and faith in that promise.  Learn to love your Heavenly Father and become His disciple in word and in deed.

Be assured that if you but hold on, believe in Him, and remain faithful in keeping the commandments, one day you will experience for yourself the promises revealed to the Apostle Paul: "Eye hath not seen, not ear heard, neither have entered into the hearts of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." (1 Corinthians 2:9)

Brothers and sisters, the most powerful Being in the universe is the Father of your spirit.  He knows you.  He loves you with a perfect love.  

God sees you not only as a mortal being on a small planet who lives for a brief season - He sees you as His child.  He sees you as the being you are capable and designed to become.  He wants you to know that you matter to Him."  

Here's what I heard…

There's amazing stuff coming.  My life is abundant and wonderful right now, and I am aware of that everyday, but there are things that I am impatient for…grandchildren, missions, weddings, future callings, retirement, etc.  I have a hard time being patient and waiting for the things that I know are coming in the future.  But Heavenly Father knows me.  He wants me to learn patience, to have faith in Him, and to be good so that all of those things that I have seen glimpses of, I will actually be prepared for and worthy to receive.  

I am so grateful, not only to have been able to go to church today, but also to have been reminded once again that Heavenly Father has everything under control.  I'm grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who has a uniquely divine plan for each of us.  

Be Good. Be Patient. Don't Forget.