Sheltons in the Sun: March 2016

Blog #26 The Worth of Souls

When I called daddy the other day, he was very saddened because he and Susie had just purchased a wheel chair to help him get around. He said his legs weren’t working over the weekend and he could barely move. Dad is 95 years old and he was disappointed, upset and discouraged a year ago when he had to give up his driver’s license (yet he has slowly come to accept it). But this time, my heart ached as I heard him question to himself if he had any value or usefulness now. The aging process is a sacred time of life: much as birth is. But, it is painful to watch those we love temporarily lose the capabilities that have helped define them through this journey we call earth life. And, it is also exhausting for the caretakers who work so hard to help them function and find meaning as they struggle through these last years. The children and grandchildren make efforts to bring joy to his days. But this day it took an hour on the phone to remind him of how much good he has done for so many throughout the years. He definitely is in the category among the great men who have ever been born.

The scriptures remind us “Remember, the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.” I’ve spent a lot of moments thinking about the worth of soul while we’ve been serving here. We took Ben to the Temple last week. He has struggled most of his life with addictions as he served in the military. He has been sober for eight years and has been determined to get his life back in order. A year ago he told Mike he’d like to return to the temple (its been over 20 years) before we left for home; and last week he asked us to go with him. He was so excited to feel so good and to be able to reach this goal.

We are reminded every day how much time, effort, and money are spent by the church, and individuals, to encourage souls to repent and come to Christ. The worth of souls is the reason. Though not easy, we can change and become Christ-like, and we can submit ourselves to His will. The rewards are eternal. We’ve watch these wonderful young missionaries grow and change. We’ve seen us old missionaries grow and change. And, we see so many converts who have been looking for Christ and His church, and have the faith to get baptized and receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost. It has been amazing!

As I’ve been thinking about the value of each soul I have pondered the variety of talents and contributions the senior missionaries in our small office make. The Moons went home the first of this month. They made a strong impact on our mission. The Balls joined us for a month of training and are now doing the office work. The Morrises and the Wilsons have been here for the duration. Each personality and abilities is so different, yet each assesses the job and contributes in his/her own unique and valuable way. And things still run like clockwork. It is amazing. We don’t yet have replacements, so who knows how our job will look?

Along with daddy’s challenges, we have family and friends who, too, are struggling with the obstacles of daily living. I can see, more than ever, how important it is for us to love each other, lift and support each other through our trials, and forgive each other for our weaknesses. Last night we took John to dinner. He has serious heath issues. And, for the most part, he is alone. His family is the ward family and he has no car, nor mode of transportation. He has been in and out of the hospital many times since we’ve known him. He has about as much faith in God as I have seen in a man. He loves the missionaries (especially the senior missionaries whom we replaced that helped him through his conversion and his health challenges.) Though he has experienced so much, he recognizes the worth of the soul.

I had the joy of going home for the weekend to Braxton’s baptism. What a joyful few days! Just can’t believe how much I love our family. The days were packed because it was also Keaton’s Eagle court of Honor, Caryssa received an Honor Bee, and we celebrated Zach’s birthday. We were able to spend some time with daddy, all the grandchildren, and, the kids had a special adult dinner so Ryan and Hali could give me a special gift . . . an ultrasound of our forthcoming grandbaby! The only thing that could have made the weekend more perfect was if Mike could have joined us. He held the fort down in the mission.

Last weekend Caryssa came to visit us. We were thrilled to have her. It happened to be a missionary weekend, and was a lot of fun. She went out with the Sister Missionaries and in three hours, experienced everything from a broken appointment, major rejection, a part-member family challenge, and, an investigator with total interest in Christ’s gospel. We thought we had a baptism scheduled, but the time was after she left on Sunday, so the missionaries came to our home to share a baptismal “missionary moment” with her. Later, the three of us joined our three elders to teach a “golden” investigator. She did get to see a little of Bakersfield and to go to Buck Owen’s Crystal Palace. We loved having her.

We are mindful of the worth of souls and pray that you know how much we value your love and friendship.