Feel the Love!!

“Charity is the pure love of Christ…wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love…”  (Moroni 7:47-48).
 
A month or so ago, during morning prayer, this scripture came to my mind with a clarity that rarely happens in my life.   The impression was so strong and the inspiration so clear that I could not fail to recognize it for what it was—divine, personal instruction.   I was to pray, with all the earnestness I was able to muster, to be filled with the pure love of Christ.
 
So I did.    And I do.   In every personal prayer I plead to be filled with Christ’s love.   When I began my petitions, I thought that I was asking that charity become a part of my Being, my “Ser” so to speak.   I imagined that, filled with Christ’s love, my interactions with others would change.    My hopes were that I’d be blessed with true charity, with love like the love that Christ has, that I’d be able to share that love with others and, guided by that love, that I would be able to interact with others as Christ would if He were in the situation.
 
This week I realized that my prayers have been answered; I have indeed been filled with Christ’s love but not in the manner I anticipated.   Love from those around us—caring family and friends—has filled me.    I am filled to overflowing by kindness, generosity, and pure love—Christ’s love—poured out upon us by fountains of friends and family.
 
A family member came home Wednesday after spending 8 days in the hospital.  Though all is well now, the situation was concerning for a while.    Enter Christ’s love.  LOTS of it.   Coming from multiple directions and manifest in many ways.   As is so often the case, Christ used the hands and hearts of others to answer my prayers.

• Sister-in-laws wrote heartfelt and heartwarming emails.
• Just days before Christmas my sister volunteered to drop everything and come to Ogden
• Cousins texted, asking for suggestions on how to help
• Grandparents stepped in to soothe, transport, and entertain.
• A niece wrote a tender message expressing love and support
• One teacher emailed instructions NOT to worry about the class work missed and another teacher offered her office as a sanctuary if needed.
• Two families told us how they had knelt together, praying and fasting in our behalf, and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to join do so.
• Religious leaders who built relationships of trust that put them into positions where they were trusted and able to help
• Kind friends and family who must have been curious but who did not ask questions.   [Please follow their example.   Thanks!]
• A neighbor fed my sheep and another plowed our driveway
• My boss, even though school was out for the holiday and her stewardship over me was temporarily suspended, texted several times, asking for updates and offering support
• The head secretary, whose competent assurance made it possible for me to miss a day at school without worrying about anything, gave me a huge hug and offered to help with whatever, whenever.
• My teaching colleague, a young, hip, rock-climber guy, offered—twice—to bring us dinner.
• Sweet Sara, who before coming to UT did not know one single person who regularly attended church, fasted with us, going without food and drink for 24 hours motivated purely by love.
• Miles, who has never in his life fasted even one meal, did a full fast.   He stayed strong, laying his head on the table during school lunch, sitting through a class movie party while everyone around him ate popcorn, and resisting the urge to consume the birthday treat given him by his teacher. 

Blessings on our heads, love in our hearts, and healing in our souls.
 
“…pray unto the Father with all energy of heart that ye may be filled with this love….”   
 
Prayers are answered.     I am filled.
 
Thank you, Father.    And thank you to His ministering angels, all of you who pour His love into my heart.  

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