Sunday afternoon ponderings

Somewhere on or around my computer desk, there exists a helpful 'to do' list of things I need to blog about. I feel pretty good about knocking that list out in the next few days, starting with an update on our cute, silly, smile-y Jackers.

Buuut first I'm opting to ramble a bit. This last week has been a fairly devastating one for a family in our ward whose husband and father passed away very unexpectedly. At the same time, there's another big service project underway involving another family in our ward that's requiring an 'all hands on deck' approach. In the midst of learning about those two situations, I also found out about a family in our ward/neighborhood whose (mid-30's) wife and mother is in the midst of a very serious battle with cancer. 

I'm pretty sure I've run through the gauntlet of emotions in response to all of this (I obviously can't even begin to comprehend what those more closely involved are going through), but the feeling I'm most overwhelmed with is gratitude for our ward family. I've been so inspired as I've heard and seen the service given (and committed to in coming days) and the prayers offered and the thoughts devoted to these families. And all of it is done with such profound love and empathy. 

And while I know that this kind of service absolutely isn't unique to our particular ward (or church), I'm very grateful that our family is where we are to witness these specific acts. When I look back at the home-buying process that Chuck and I went through in early 2008, I can see how things lined up for us to buy this house instead of others that we may have been drawn to previously. We love knowing (as well as we can know) that we will be in this house and ward forever - it's so fun to dig in and make connections with people and look forward to maintaining those friendships for years to come. Yesterday I was able to help with the luncheon after the funeral alongside a lot of long-time (aka old!) members of our ward and I really enjoyed both witnessing the camaraderie that exists between these friends and being invited to participate in it as well. Chuck and I had a similar experience a couple of days prior as we worked alongside other members of the ward on the aforementioned big project - service strengthens our love for those we serve as well as those we serve with.

Our ward family certainly isn't perfect (as luck would have it, no family is), but it's ours and we love it.