Their son's luminaria:
To finally get to the point of my post, I am a member of this church and recently during the semi-annual general conference, had the opportunity to listen to the President of our church, Thomas S. Monson, speak about a man named Dr. Jack McConnell. He was 1 of 7 children who lived in a humble home and grew up in the hills of Southwest Virginia. His father was a methodist minister and his mother a homemaker. Every night around the dinner table, his father would go around the table and ask each of his children the question "what have you done for someone today?". This became so engrained in the children that they would look for opportunities to do a good turn for someone else each day. As the children grew their motivation changed to an inner desire to help others.
Dr. McConell came to have a distinguished medical career and acheived wonderful things throughout his life including the development of the tuberculosis tine test, participated in the early development of the polio vaccine, supervised the development of Tylenol, and was instrumental in developing the magnetic resonance imaging procedure, or MRI. But what Dr. McConnell calls his greatest accomplishment is that he created an organization called "Volunteers in Medicine", which gives retired medical personnel a chance to volunteer at free clinics serving the working uninsured. Dr. McConnell made this statement: “In one of those paradoxes of life, I have benefited more from Volunteers in Medicine than my patients have.”
I don't want to compare us to Dr. McConell (we can't all be that great, right?), but what I can relate to is that we often feel this same way in that we benefit far more than any recipient mother of a box. What I have learned is that in one of the darkest times in my life it was helping others that ultimatally helped myself. It was by attempting to look outside of myself to notice someone else and what they may be going through to realize I am not alone.
President Monson reminded us that in Luke 9:24, the Savior taught His disciples, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”
He also stated:
"I believe the Savior is telling us that unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish—and in effect save their lives."
How true this is! Recently we have had SO many people help our organization to ensure that no mother leaves the hospital empty handed. We appreciate those that have taken time from their lives to help us. It is my hope that anyone who participates in assembling boxes, making donations or providing service in any other way may also experience some of these same feelings that Dr. McConnell was talking about. We certainly thank everyone that has helped us recently in furthering our cause and helping those that need it.
It was so sweet to see the kids write their personal messages to their loved ones and release them into the sky. I thought this pictures really captured the sweetness of it. These are actually my nephews (Braeden and Cole) and my own children (Garrett and Taryn).
The kids LOVED the fireman and firetruck. Thanks Queen Creek Fire Department!
