Today while on my daily walk, I was listening to the Church News podcast. The guest was a man who works for the Church History department and the topic was something in regards to lessons learned from the pioneers of the church. One of the comments that the man made was something to the effect of, "the pioneer experience didn't end with the trek across the country. The building of communities, continually being asked to move to another settlement, building temples, etc. was in many ways the more difficult part of coming to Zion. It was the 'staying' that required real faith and endurance." That particular thought really struck me. It is the "staying" and all that entails that really inspires me.
This summer, we have been building a shop with an apartment in back for our children to rent as housing is so expensive in the area. We borrowed $200,000 and we have almost come to the end of that money, but we still aren't quite finished. Todd has worked and worked. It was months of planning and submitting the plans to the county for approval before we actually dug the foundation. We dug the hole for the foundation on January 29, 2022. It has been an almost daily work experience for Todd every day since then. I have been a helper, but not anything like the work that Todd has put in. The boys helped quite a lot in the beginning as we were framing and roofing, and Amber has helped whenever there was a clean up job. We are within a month of being finished.
If I look at this project through the lens of a future historical perspective, what will others think of our project? I really don't know what difficult situations are ahead in the future with renting out the apartment, but for the time being, it feels like the right thing to do. I think that the pioneers must have felt similarly. They really didn't know what gathering to "Zion" would look like, where they would live, what would come after they had gathered, or anything super specific. However, they kept moving forward. That to me, is the real lesson.
Sometimes moving forward seems exhausting, but I keep trying. The last few days, David has started "Home MTC". Although I love his enthusiasm and excitement, I do feel a little sad that his days at home are dwindling away. He is ready and he will be a good missionary. I will miss him at home, but I am excited for him to learn and grow in the gospel and in becoming an adult. He is brimming with faith to keep moving ahead.
I am looking back at all of the ways that God's hand has been at work in my life over the years to have my children serve missions. If you would have asked me eighteen years ago how I would feel about getting my last child ready to serve, I am sure that I would have been ecstatic. I would have told you that I was working for that goal. Well, that day is here, and I am grateful. It has been a drop-by-drop-of-oil experience. I doubt very much that there has been one great moment of conversion in my children's lives, but I hope that it has felt like a steady supply of experiences, conversations, and love of God and Jesus Christ that has brought them to this point. And we are not done. There is still so much life to live and experiences to have. Moving forward is a continual process and adventure. I hope that my pioneer ancestors would approve of my efforts.
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