During the past week or so some remarkable things have happened, that at first glance may seem completely unrelated, yet in my mind they are part of a big picture that has everything to do with why we are here on this earth.

My beautiful baby granddaughter, Derby was born. Welcoming her were her faithful parents, siblings and a multitude of loving family members, near and far.

Saturday my lovely new niece Emily Ying Osborn Fetzer was baptized. She has been studying with the missionaries here ever since her arrival in America and has a sweet assurance that what she has been taught is true. The Spirit was so powerful that I am sure that it is no coincidence that she came to this family at this time.

I attended the wedding of my nephew Jake and his lovely bride Lindsey in the Omaha, Nebraska Temple. Family members from all over the country were there to participate in this sacred event. It was a glorious occasion full of the hope and beauty that accompanies temple weddings.

My dear friend Lynn completed her Earthly mission and returned to her Heavenly home. As sad as we are to see her go, I have no doubt at all that she is having the most wonderful reunion with her loved ones on the other side.

I had the opportunity at the Family History Library to help a lovely family from Pennsylvania. They were interested in a side of their family of which they knew very little. As we found artifacts of their lives, their births, marriages, and deaths, I could tell that they were moved by the discovery. When they left, the mother expressed appreciation for the library and the service it provides. Then she said, "What a wonderful world this would be if everyone valued family as much as you do." It got me thinking about what we do. We link couples and their children, generation after generation so that this special bond can endure after death. Because we are children of God and He loves us. What a wonderful world indeed, if we all valued each other as much as God does.

Service

A week ago when I returned from a pleasant trail ride I paused at the front door because my boots were so caked with muck that I decided not to track the mess inside. I removed my boots and left them to dry near the front door, intending to return later to scrape them clean. I never got around to it so yesterday as I prepared to go ride I went to the front door to find my boots and put them on. There sat two of the cleanest, shiniest boots I had ever seen. There was not a trace of dirt, and in it's place a brilliant polish. Who had done this? Some kind soul had seen the sorry state of my boots, and instead of judging me (rightly) to be a slob, had gone to considerable effort to fix the problem. (Of course the boots were too pretty to wear into the muck again, so I'm saving them to be my Sunday-go-to-meetin' boots) I'm pretty sure this person is one of my next door neighbors, but he's too modest to take credit for the service.

When my poor horse was lame and required daily treatment, my young cousin Annie Smart whose horse lives in a nearby paddock volunteered to do the medicating and hoof soaking on the days I couldn't be there. Now this girl probably doesn't weigh more than 90 lbs, but took on my big horse with his spooky behavior and refused to take payment for her help. She was just glad to be of service.

My little Mother is 91 years old, recently widowed, and has a heart compromised by a serious heart attack 2 years ago. Here is a partial list of the ways she gave service last week. She took David's turn cleaning the ward building one night when he was sick. She helped prepare and serve lunch to a zone conference of young elders and sisters. She drove a group of handicapped young women to a special Seminary program. She read every day with a young grandson who is struggling to keep up with his reading assignments in school. She attended the temple to work for an ancestor who has passed on. She turned over the soil in her sizable garden in preparation for the produce she hopes to plant soon, and from which she will feed many.

My youngest son David likes to eat. Asked what his favorite thing at Disneyland is, he will reply, "Room service." And yet, three times in as many weeks he has voluntarily gone without eating for a day in order to fast and pray for a dear friend who is seriously ill.

This is just a tiny sampling of the service done by and for the people I know and love. It is one of the things that make life worth living. It is the way we approach Christ like love. Thanks to all of you who do so much, in so many ways big and small, for so many. You are an inspiration to me.