Merry Christmas Everyone!

Simple Joys

Simple Joys are those moments that can’t be replaced with money, can not be redone and that time can not take away. This year we have been blessed with simple joys that have shaped our family and deepened our appreciation for Him who is the giver of all Joy.

A simple joy is finishing your first sprint Triathlon and waiting at the end so your children can cross the finish line with you. Or watching your husband coach your sons tackle football team with respect & dignity for those dear 8 year olds who are working so hard at a man’s sport. A simple joy is watching your son’s team win after they worked so hard at listening, but an even better simple joy is watching your son’s team lose and hearing him cheer on his team mates regardless.

A simple joy is coaching your other son’s indoor soccer team and still having the support of the parents when there is only one other female coach in a league of 20 male coaches. Or looking over at the sidelines to see your children cheering you on as you play in a co-ed soccer team for the first time in 13 years. A simple joy is having all the neighbour kids over to make homemade pretzels and overlooking all the cinnamon scattered on the floor because it was worth it to have them sit at the bar and talk to you for an hour. Or watching that 10 year old Webelo get his Arrow of Light award after months and months of hard work together.

A simple joy is watching your 8 year old child go down into the waters of baptism and then tell you 10 months later it was the best day of his life. Or having a very sick child ask his Dad for a Priesthood blessing because he has faith in Jesus Christ. A simple joy is teaching a lesson in church and changing it last minute because you feel it needs to go in another direction, then having the girls who were there come up to you in tears and tell you that was the best lesson they ever had. Or waking up each Saturday morning to the smell of homemade pancakes and hearing your husband teaching your children to unload the dishwasher so you can wake up to a clean kitchen.

A simple joy is having a Grandma and Grandpa move close and watching as your baby girl runs to them yelling “gampa & gamma!” Or having their other Grandma and Grandpa fly into town and seeing the excitement on their faces as they walk through the back door. A simple joy is hearing the garage door open every night and watching your children run and hide because that means Dad is home to find them. Or spending weeks and weeks at the side of your husband spreading 15 dump truck loads of topsoil just so you can lie on a bed of grass and watch the stars when you’re done.

The sweetest of simple joys is having the whisperings of the Holy Spirit tell you to go into the garage just to find you’re 1 year old in the front seat with the car on, or hearing that voice tell you to look into the pool only to find your 3 year old kicking for air at the bottom. That joy comes when you know you acted upon an impression that could have utterly changed the outcome of your life and you are so grateful that your Heavenly Father knew before you of what needed to happen.

The purest of simple joys is knowing that a baby was born to sweet Mary many years ago who came willingly to pay the price of sin for all mankind. This joy intensifies as you teach your children to serve just as the Savior did and you watch them fill school bags for children in Africa or give away their toys for nursery children in South America. Most of all, this simple joy is most tangible when you watch them come home from school and immediately open the special treat they received and hand it out to each other or run to each others aid when tears fall because of hurt and pain.

We hope all of you feel these simple joys of life as you put your trust in the Savior and allow Him to run to your aid as the hardships of life cause hurt and pain. He willingly has died so that these sorrows can be swallowed up in His Grace and Mercy. He becons us all to come unto Him and find this peace.