In The Nightstand Drawer

Emily and Karin have shared a bedroom since Emily was in a crib, but mostly it has been Karin’s room. Her clothing, jewelry, shoes, bags, school bags and books have filled the drawers and closets. Her pictures hang on the wall and the air smells of her perfume. It was so wonderful to have her here last summer living with us. I miss her tremendously and even when she is gone, the room feels like Karin to me.

Things are beginning to change. Emily is growing up and starting to move Karin’s things out of her way. Pretty soon Karin will want her pictures and curios and then Emily will fill the space with her own pretty things.

This week we were cleaning out some drawers and Emily found a 3x5 card with Karin’s handwriting on it. She remarked that Karin had left her a special note. I recognized the card immediately. We’ve had a tradition in our Young Women’s that the last Sunday of the year, after Christmas, girls who have recently graduated and left the Young Women’s organization to attend college or move on somewhere else, come back and share their experiences with the girls including how Personal Progress has helped them.

The note card we found contained some of the thoughts that Karin shared when she was invited back to Young Women’s. I love these thoughts she wanted to share with her YW friends about how to be happy and successful in your new ward. They are from her freshman year at BYU.

Here is what she said
• Go to all 3 hours of church, take notes.
• Attend firesides, take notes
• Bear your testimony on Fast Sunday
• Accept a calling
• Be friends with the Bishopric
• Attend ward prayer and FHE
• Attend the Temple

I love these thoughts because they show an easiness and a willingness to believe. I’ve had friends who have decided to find out if a gospel principle is true by not doing it. For example, they might decide not to pay their tithing and wait to see how they feel. Somehow this is supposed to prove to them if it is a true principle or not. I’m not perfect by any means but I do love the scriptures that teach that the Lord will pour out his Spirit upon us because of our easiness and willingness to believe in his words. (See Helaman 6:36). What a better way to learn if a principle is truly from God. One of my favorite talks from the last General Conference is Elder Ringwood who teaches me how to have an easiness and a willingness to believe. He says this attribute comes from:

Having a soft heart
Having a heart sensitive to the Holy Ghost
Have a heart that can love
Having a heart that can make and keep sacred covenants
Having a heart that can feel the power of the Atonement of Christ

He says that developing a soft heart comes by
Showing a desire and exercising diligence
Having the word of God sink deep into our hearts
Having a heart that is willing to change
Being willing to repent and obey
Daily living of the Gospel

I love this quote, “…this easiness and willingness to believe will come from doing those seemingly insignificant things taught to us repeatedly since our youth. Obedience will bring soft hearts and an easiness to believe in the word of God. I bear witness that an easiness to believe will bring an outpouring of the Spirit.”

Karin has been and continues to be an example to me of someone who chooses to obey and believe with easiness. I have seen the Spirit poured out on her in abundance. So, while this little note card wasn’t written specifically for Emily I will keep it in her drawer and hope that she listens to her older sister.

Motherhood can be so wonderful.