"Let's buy him a tie!" Someone said.
We all laughed, but somehow the suggestion became serious.
"Lets buy him a tie and write him a note!"
We were determined.
But it didn't take long for the eager feelings of that evening to dissipate. We felt too silly. We got too busy. We never bought a tie or sent a note.
I wish we had. And I think wistfully about that scenario every time I read or listen to Sister Parkin's 2007 devotional address (I read and re-read, listen and re-listen to this talk. It's wonderful.)
Personal Ministry: Sacred and Precious
Sister Parkin begins by recounting the story of a woman who, spontaneously and with love, sewed a tie for President Kimball when he was the prophet. She went to his home to deliver it, but felt suddenly silly when Sister Kimball opened the door.
"Stumbling all over herself, Susan said, 'I saw President Kimball in his new suit on Sunday. Dad just brought me some silk from New York . . . and so I made him a tie.'
Before Susan could continue, Sister Kimball stopped her, took hold of her shoulders, and said: 'Susan, never suppress a generous thought.'”
I don't think we should all buy and make ties for the prophet.
But don't you love that idea of acting more consistently on generous impulses?!
I grew up hearing my mother's voice recite the lines President Monson quoted in last November's conference:
I have wept in the night
For the shortness of sight
That to somebody’s need made me blind;
But I never have yet
Felt a tinge of regret
For being a little too kind.
"Never suppress a generous thought."
Now let's hop over to the New Testament again. Matthew 25. Just a few verses after the parable of the talents we discussed last week.
"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me."
Familiar verses. Beautiful images of ministering and compassion. Images that, in my mind, have always been coupled with scenes of poverty and suffering. Which is intended, right? We ought to consider the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger - at home and abroad. We ought to feed, water, and welcome destitute folks. We ought to give and donate and relieve. Yes!
But after pondering the parable of the talents and considering the idea of individual stewardship over souls, these familiar verses took on added meaning as well. I began to see how they applied directly to my immediate spheres of influence.
My children's faces came to mind as I read "For I was an hungered and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink."
And I saw the temple when I read, "I was in prison, and ye came unto me." (Our neighbor and friend Brian Kershisnik was the first to help me connect those two ideas. How beautiful, no?)
As I read, the Spirit helped me to feel greater purpose in my current roles (like motherhood) and helped me to see more opportunities to minister in my seemingly small spheres of influence.
"Do small things with great love," said Mother Teresa (as quoted in Sis. Parkin's talk).
And "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." Alma 37: 6
