Bucket list 46 – the light side

August, 3, 2014

Most of us, most of our lives, take everything we do way too seriously. We wonder over what to say, when to say what, why we didn’t say what we planned to, how others might interpret our comments and actions, and then we have the audacity to feel like we have let everyone down by not being perfect in our “presentation”. I was enchanted by a young lady this morning in a Sacrament meeting I attended this morning. I would guess her to be in her early twenties (more or less). She spoke hesitantly and thanked God for her limitations, declaring that these limitations helped her be who God wanted her to be. She went on to tell about the wonderful family she had, the opportunities she had to enjoy life, and the direction her life has taken her to embrace God and his beautiful plan of salvation. My goodness, how many of us miss the point of temporal life and blast past our few blinks and nods to never appreciate the “lilies of the field”.

Another report was given through a testimony about the love and caring this ward family had given to a family with many children and a mother undergoing early delivery potential problems. The father gave -his heart-felt thanks those who had blessed their lives during the previous week. Then, he reported on the experiences shared by many regarding a gentleman with a little boy’s social age who had wandered off and spent the night walking the streets of Salt Lake City. When they found him, he repeated over and over, “God helped me”. All was well because people who cared and were directed by the Holy Ghost and ministering angels to look after and bring this fine fellow home to a happy reunion and friendly environment.

You may have noticed that nothing in this note has been said about money, prestige, jobs, houses, cars, and the other things on which we spend most of our time. My mother’s adage about not taking a U-haul to heaven always jumps out at me when I realize how much time I have spent tending to things that are so minimal in value. Jean and I have listened to several books recently that depict the lives of individuals with upside down lives because of illness, tornados, family crisis, and other catastrophic elements which impact our lives on occasion. Imagine a circumstance in our lives which would take us from our religious beliefs, from economically comfortable, from family and friends to total disaster and disconnect. In each of these stories the important things came immediately to the top. Minor distractions and discomforting conditions went way to the back of the line and those things which sustain us, like food, faith, and family came zooming to the head of the class.

The pressing issues in my mind have become unlinked with cars, houses, vacations, prestige, and honors. The entire sum of my passions is now going to be focused on how I can best serve my sweetheart, my family, and my God. If I can do that by helping people financially, that will be grand. If we can continue to enjoy the association we have with missionary calling working with home-bound seminary and young single institute students; that will be wonderful. If we can help our children and grandchildren learn to appreciate the beauty of God’s vineyard, that will give us calm and peace. I often quip to my children that they will be empty nesters in a blink of an eye. Grandchildren are already leaving the familial nest in droves and soon a whole new generation will emerge. Prayerfully, I look to the future and see the hand of God in all things and only ask that our experiences will help spring-board future generations to a place of peace and god loving experiences.

God bless each of us as we look to the light side of life.

Duane Jacobs, grandfather, father, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend