Trevor and Tara: December 2020

This year has been a hard year for everyone. With Covid and the election, it has brought so many unknowns and changes. It has torn this country apart. People have been so mean and ruthless. Everyone seems to be out for himself. We have been separated. The kids have been banned from attending in person school, they have canceled all school sports and activities. They have canceled gatherings for churches and made businesses close down. I never thought I would see the day when our freedoms and rights would so boldly and swiftly be taken away. But even with all this turmoil and uncertainty, there have been a lot of positives. I have had more time with my children. I have been forced to look at how I teach my children and step up to do a better job of teaching and not relying on church and school to do that. I would never have had enough courage to Home School Corbin which has been the biggest blessing. I have more influence on my children and the world has less.

My point in closing the book out with these thoughts is the world will ever be changing. What is considered right and wrong, normal and unnormal, rights and liberties etc will always change. But the one thing that I can rely on and who will never change or abandon me is My Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. I know without a shadow of a doubt we have a Heavenly Father who loves us. He is not surprised with any of this and he has set things in motion so that his work can go forth. He is always there. If we have fatih, stay strong and true to the things we know to be right we will be blessed. He will provide all that we need. It doesn't mean we won't go through hard times but he will be there during those times and provide us peace, comfort, and direction no matter what is going on around us.

Papa wrote this and shared it this past Christmas so I added a copy of his story/testimony in here to keep. I hope my kids realize how blessed they are to have such great examples and people who love them.

The Lost Penny That Was Found

If I told someone that I run a half-marathon each week and have done so for the past 5+ years, what they might hear is that “I like to run.”  But, that would be a mistake.  I do not like running half-marathons.  I like finishing half-marathons.  I like finishing half-marathons because, as you know, I like being able to eat ice cream and all-you-can-eat sushi.  Even so, I have learned some great lessons from pounding the pavement each week.
As I run the roads at a snail’s pace next to cars zooming by, I am amazed how often I see coins in the road.  As I passed the pennies, I wondered “how did they get there?” Did someone purposely discard a coin or two as having little value?  Did someone lose the coin and return to look; unsuccessfully?  I used to run past these coins, not wanting to break stride.  But, after seeing so many, I realized there were lessons to be learned and I decided to start picking them up.
My personal Christmas gift to you is one of these rescued cast-aways.
And, I hope to share with your family a few of the lessons I’ve learned—even testimony-building realizations—as I’ve pondered on my tread-upon treasures:
1.     Reflecting the sun/Reflecting the Son:  Because I run almost always near dawn or dusk, the sun is usually close to the horizon, making for great reflections off puddles of water . . . or coins.  Thus, coins that might be passed-by undetected in the dark of night or even the direct overhead light of noon-day are more easily seen as the sun’s rays reflect off the coin. And, without assistance from a passer-by, the coin will remain in its current location and continue to tarnish and deteriorate.  Lesson learned:  There are many of our Heavenly Father’s children who feel cast-aside; who are tarnished by rejection, ridicule, addiction, sin, disability, or any number of life’s unfair disappointments.  Many, like the coins at midday, may blend in very well to their surroundings.  However, each is a son or daughter of God—royalty related to our Elder Brother; the Son.  Each has the ability to reflect the Son’s radiance if we care enough to look for it and care even more to pick them up; to alter the trajectory of their lives in a positive way—which takes me to the next lesson.
2.     Seeing what others do not see—doing what others do not do:  The roads and highways I run have cars speeding by too fast to notice a small piece of metal embedded into the asphalt, or lying next to the gutter. However, as I run near those gutters at a pace only a sloth would envy, I am able to see what others do not see. As I pause to pick the coin up, I am able to do what others are not able to do because they do not see what I have been blessed to see.  Lesson learned: To be an effective instrument in the Lord’s hands, we sometimes have to slow down; not be in such a hurry to get to that next destination in life.  The Lord can and will use those who have become accustomed to seeing what others do not see, and doing what others do not do.  But, it begins with seeing—seeing with the spirit of discernment—because we cannot purposely assist one in need without first discerning the need.
3.     Opportunities to assist others often come while I struggle myself:  The best part of my run is when my watch clicks from 13.09 miles to 13.10 miles. My run is over!  While in the midst of my run, it is two hours of pain and pure misery.  Interestingly, I have never discovered a coin at the end of my run.  Instead, the choice to pick-up a lost coin always presents itself while I am in the midst of experiencing physical pain and misery. Strangely, however, I always feel a sense of accomplishment and self-worth by “rescuing” an inanimate object, as if I did something good.  Lesson learned:  Our ability to see and feel the needs of others is frequently heightened during periods of our own pain and misery.  Although counter-intuitive, it is a truism that helping others when in need of help ourselves, does help ourselves. The Lord is able to use one to heal two.  The healer becomes the healed, even if only in small measure or for a short period of time.  There is respite to the soul for those who help others in their own extremities.  “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I [the Lord Jesus Christ] will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, . . . and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”  (Matt. 11:28).
4.     Not everything that glitters is gold:  As I run toward a rising or setting sun, the asphalt glistens with lots of shiny objects.  I see screws, nails, lids from cans, etc.  I never confuse these with coins.  What does confuse me, however, is gum—yes, gum.  Run-over gum seems to flatten in a circular pattern about the same size as a coin and, remarkably, reflects sunlight very similar to coins. I have paused many times thinking a glisten in the road was a discarded coin, only to discover it was discarded Juicy Fruit.  In those moments, I moved on.  Lesson learned: The corollary to the last lesson is that we have to be careful that our time and attention and priorities are devoted to things worth our time and attention and priorities.  Good is not as good as better, and better is not as good as best. Stopping to help another is good and can be a blessing in both persons’ lives.  However, if helping another comes at a cost to one’s self (or family) in a way that does not lift both the one andthe other, but instead drags one down toward the level of the other, it is time to move on.  It does not mean the other is not worth rescuing, it just means the Lord will use a different instrument to do it (recognizing that we may be a screw driver when a hammer is needed is a valuable insight—it doesn’t lessen the value of either tool, it just means they are uniquely suited for different purposes).
5.     It all adds up:  On my runs, I mostly find pennies.  At first, I didn’t stop to pick them up because, after all, it was “just a penny.”  The intrinsic value of a penny is one cent; one tenth of a dime.  When I was a boy, my mom would give me a penny to buy a piece of “penny candy,” which truly cost just one cent.  Those days are long gone.  A penny buys nothing today.  However, if you have a hundred pennies, you have a dollar.  The pennies add up.  Lesson learned: What is something worth?  The answer is that an item’s worth is determined by what someone is ready, willing, and able to pay for that item.  So, what’s the worth of a soul?  It is the price that the Son was ready, willing, and able to pay for each one of us.  Each is of infinite worth.  Even if battered and scarred a little from being discarded at high speed or repeatedly run over in the roads of life, the worth of a soul is great in the eyes of our loving Father, and His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We may not be able to measure the impact we have on a life today. However, repeated acts of caring, uplift, and encouragement add up.
I know our Savior lives and that He knows and loves each one of us.  As parents now yourselves, you have an added insight into the love our Father has for you and me.  I know that He uses us to accomplish His grand and glorious eternal purposes.  On this Christmas Day 2020—the year of a pandemic—the year of so much change and disruption—the year of political division—I invoke the Lord’s blessings of peace, hope, and comfort on each of you, my children.  I invite you to look for “pennies” that may be placed along your path, even within your own home, that you can pause and lift-up.  Keep this penny close as a reminder.  I promise that, in doing so, you will feel a partnership with God—you will become more personally and deeply acquainted with the Master you enlist to serve—and will be the recipient of many tender mercies.  With all my love, penned this early Christmas morning, December 25, 2020.

                                                                                       Dan R. Waite (dad)