Mother and Daughter

Today I once again had the rare privilege of sitting with my mother in relief society. This is still a new thing for me because until December she was everywhere but RS. Primary, Young Women, Nursery, all those places. Now I get to sit next to her and be a partner with her in learning the things of the gospel.

Recently I've thought a lot about the legacies mothers pass to daughters. Maureen, a new friend of mine, discussed with me what it meant to her that her mother taught her how to sew. Even though parents eventually pass on the skills we gain from them keep them in our lives. I want to use this space to say thanks to the mothers in my life

My Aunt Dorthea wrote this song in memorial of my Grandma Christensen.

One Loaf of Bread

There is one aroma that fills my mind with memories of home

It comes from out of the blue, like the lines of a lyrical poem

Learning to serve one another in our kitchen sweet and warm

Daily reading the scriptures on our small family farm

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When Mom is busy in the kitchen, cooking up service and love

Lifting the load of another, like a ray of sun from above

Quietly leaving a treasure at the door of a neighbor in need

A little act of kindness, a cheerful word or deed

All of her life she has taught us

How the Savior fed more than 1,000 people

With one loaf of bread

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There were thoughts, pictures, and poems to read, decorating the walls of home

We loved flowers and trees, butterflies, music filled all our lives with a song

A garden full of vegtables, a picnic in the park

Old mem'ries flood my mind with peace, sing on as a bright meadow lark

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When Mom is busy in the kitchen, cooking up service and love
Lifting the load of another, like a ray of sun from above
Quietly leaving a treasure at the door of a neighbor in need
A little act of kindness, a cheerful word or deed
All of her life she has taught us
How the Savior fed more than 1,000 people
With one loaf of bread

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My cousins and I have often discussed how we remember her best when we smell bread baking. She passed away when I was 15 but one day I hope to be the hopemaker and type of woman she was.

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My Grandma Terry died over the past labor day weekend. I miss her, but I think I have her with me a lot. Our personalities were shaped by similar circumstances because she had a stroke that left her left side paralyzed when she was 49, and that was well before I was born. Whenever I complained to my mom about it not being fair that I had my disability she would say "talk to your grandma" and when I did Grandma would say "You're telling me! Well since there is nothing we can do about it why don't we just enjoy a game of cards instead?" She taught me that life has challenges and the sooner we accept them the sooner we can be optimistic about them. No use complaining about what you can't change

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When I first moved away from home I missed my family terribly. I needed a mom more than anything, but I had moved away to get away from home and learn to live without her. Fortunately Heavenly Father knew I had that need and placed me in a ward with loving Relief Society Mentors. One in particular opened her home and life to me. I think she is the most gracious person I have ever met. I still lived in my own place and enjoyed being on my own and making my own life, but I always had that safe haven and someone to steer me back on track when I felt lost (and no, I will not comment on how often I get lost.)

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I don't know even where to start talking about Kathy Christensen, my real mom. We tended to butt heads when I still lived at home, but now she has become the best friend I could possibly have on this earth. She taught me to cook, manage money, get along with others, do laundry, and take care of my hygiene. I would not have survived without her and that is a fact.

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All of these things are important but the most important things I know I learned from all of them. One of the hardest for me, then and still, is loving my self even with my faults. I am so greatful for the time that they watched me make unwise choices (sometimes with sorrow and sometimes with amusement) and loved me through my tough time. This is true charity. The most important lesson I have learned from any of the aforementioned people and all of them combined is a love of the Savior. I have seen every one of them open the scriptures and reverently study the pages. I can't count the times I have seen any one of them with their heads bowed in sincere prayer. At every juncture in my life each of these have steadily pointed the way to the Savior. Heavenly Father gives us mothers (in my opinion at least) because they are close enough to the veil to do His work in guiding us home. That is the true legacy of motherhood and I am greatful to have shared in it thus far.