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Count Your COVID Blessings

4/19/2020

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COVID-19 has wreaked havoc with the world.   Millions have sickened and over a hundred thousand are dead.  Economies have ground to a halt and people are out of work in record numbers.   Unquestionably, the pandemic is tragic for much of the world. Blessedly, here on the Hislop Half-Acre, the trials have been few and the blessings many.

“Count your COVID blessings,
Name them one by one,
Count your COVID blessings, 

See what God had done.”

Here are a few of our COVID blessings:

  1. Closets organized.   The mysterious black hole properties of the under-the-stairs storage space have been conquered!   The things tossed there over the past 20 years that had disappeared without a trace have been recovered.  And, even better, thanks to a bout of organizational frenzy, we will probably be able to find them again, should we ever need them (...providing, of course, that we remember that we have them….)
  2. Jam!   Bags and bags and bags of frozen strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries converted to 26 pints of freezer jam.   For a solid week I had to make a loaf of bread every day to keep up with the family’s appetite for jam.
  3. Zorro moves.   It is a miracle almost as amazing as the aforementioned conquering of the black hole.   Zorro, our big, hairy, overweight, lethargic canine romps playfully multiple times daily with Zoey, Grace’s 6 month old puppy.   He feigns irritation as he repeatedly accepts Zoey invitation to play. Watching them is delightful.
  4. Chick moves too.  He has been laid off his graveyard shift at AutoLiv which means that, instead of sleeping all day, he moves about the house during daylight hours. We love seeing him at home.   
  5. Babbs, the angry bird, has gone south.    She squawks at Tanah in Cedar City now. We love seeing her at Tanah’s home.
  6. Grace, the U of U student, has come north.   Grace brought her remote receptionist job to our basement where she works in the morning, watches Zorro play with Zoey in the afternoon, and plays Pinochle at night.  
  7. Pinochle every night.   Every night. Every night.
  8. Home every day.  Every day. Every day.   I am an at-home Mom again and I love it.  LOVE IT! I teach online in the early morning, hound my son to do his homework in the late morning, and work/play in the afternoon (and play Pinochle at night.)    With my OPA students I explore earthquakes, natural hazards, and light and sound waves. With Miles I watch Shakespeare, ride my bike (beside him while he runs) and play disc golf.  With my at-home time I clean, organize, mend, cook, weed, plant, prune and catch up on the Honey-Do list that I have been making for myself for years.
  9. Dune.  I am reading the book.    Decades ago someone recommended I read Dune and I said that I would…..someday.  The libraries are closed and locked inside of them are all the books I had hoped to read sooner than later.   So now I am reading a book I planned to read later than sooner. And I am enjoying it.
  10. I get to wear whatever I want.  (See photo.)
  11.  Buy chicks...but not from the store.   Traditionally I buy baby chicks from a local farm store but this year, thanks to a sudden influx of fledgling backyard chicken owners, getting chicks from a farm store involves waiting in a long line and being limited to only 6 birds.  Nope. Friday I found a man who sells chicks from his backyard. The chicks are older and healthier than those I usually purchase. COVID has hatched a new tradition for chick buying.
  12. Visits with my parents.   I have grounded them (something they never did to me in my youth….) which means they cannot leave the house to go shopping.   I shop for them, which means I have to deliver their groceries, which means I see them at least once a week. Sadly, I did not see them that often before COVID.  Hopefully seeing them more frequently will be another new tradition.
  13. Worship at home.  “Where one or two are gathered in my name, there I will be also.” (Matthew 18:20)  Closing chapels opens homes. As we have gathered in His name we have been blessed by His Spirit.  Worshipping with family, both remotely and in real time, has been a true COVID blessing.

“So amid the conflict,
​Whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, 
God is over all.

“Count your COVID blessings,
Name them one by one,
Count your COVID blessings, 

See what God had done.”


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Infinite

4/12/2020

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I recently read across the concept of infinity in a physics book.  (My, doesn’t that make me sound intelligent...reading a physics book….Believe me, it is not as impressive as it may seem!)  Increasing my understanding of physics expanded my understanding of Christ’s Atonement. Let’s see if I can articulate my insights….

Limitless is a synonym for infinite; to be infinite is to be without limits.   In an infinite universe there are infinite possibilities which means that anything that can happen will happen.  If there is a chance that something can happen, even if the chance is infinitesimally small, in an infinite universe, it will happen.    Fascinating.  

Christ’s atonement was infinite.  (2 Nephi 9:7; Alma 34:12) Limitless.  There appears to be no limit to the sins and mistakes that can be made.  If there were a chance that an error will happen, even if the chance is infinitesimally small, it seems it will happen.   But the beauty of Christ’s atonement is that it is truly limitless, not just seemingly so. It covers anything and everything.   There is nothing in existence, big or small, that is outside the reach of Christ’s atonement. That is the very definition of infinite.   If it can happen, it will. And Christ has it covered. All of it.

And the true beauty of the infinite concept is that Christ’s love is also infinite.  There is no limit to His love. He will never run out of love and we can never run out of its reach.   “However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines.” (Elder Jeffrey Holland, April 2020)

This is the good news!

HAPPY EASTER.

​

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An Invitation to the World

4/6/2020

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“I invite all, including those not of our faith, to fast and pray on Good Friday, April 10, that the present pandemic may be controlled, caregivers protected, the economy strengthened and life normalized,” said President Nelson, prophet of the Lord and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Fasting, a voluntary abstinence from food and drink for 2 meals (or 24 hours), is an act of devotion and supplication practiced by many faith cultures.  There are frequent references to fasting in the Old and New Testaments. Isaiah promises that “the Lord shall answer” the calls of those who fast (Isaiah 58:9).  Christ started his mortal ministry with a 40 day fast. (Matthew 4:2) In the Book of Mormon Ammon and the sons of Mosiah “had given themselves to much prayer and fasting” (Alma 17:3) and Alma testified that he had “fasted and prayed many days” to know God’s truths. (Alma 5:46).  In Matthew 17:21 Christ said to his disciples “..this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting”.   
 
“This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”    These are Christ’s words. And President Nelson’s is an invitation to call upon Christ, in fasting and prayer, asking for His help that the COVID-19 virus “goeth out”.   “In times of deep distress, as when illness reaches pandemic proportions, the most natural thing to do is call upon Heavenly Father and His Son,” President Nelson explained.   “We still need help from heaven,” he said as he encouraged us to fast, pray, and unite our faith in a plea for healing throughout the world.  

On this Good Friday 2020, this Friday, I will fast and pray with President Nelson and millions of other faithful followers of Christ that the pandemic be controlled, caregivers be protected, the economy strengthened and life normalized.  Please join us. Unite your faith with ours in an appeal to the Master Healer for His help.

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    Teresa Hislop
    thislop@msn.com

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