Sunday, June 5, 2011

Forever Family

While I was looking into Foster program for option of adoption, I was amazed to see that the phrase, "Forever family", often came up in every background of every child that is waiting for adoption. I truly can feel that yearning every child has for a permanent family and permanent stability. It is truly amazing thing and a miracle when they have found their "forever family".

Christina is getting married in two weeks. It has been a quite spiritual journey she made until this wedding that she will have in Bountiful Temple. I think we all have our own journey till we got there and by the time when we are in sealing room, . . . being sealed to our husband for all eternity. I honestly felt so overjoyed when I have that man kneeling across from me, eager to stay with me for forever and working with me to have a family that have that bond with us forever.

On the day when my sister gets sealed forever, it will be eleven months from the death of mother. I still remember my sister tearing up and saying that her mother won't be physically present for her wedding and baby. It made me very sad. I know it is very important to our mother. She IS happy for each of her daughter! I knew that my mom would dote on Christina, her baby . . . and be with Christina, planning everything down to details. Well, I know with absoluteness that our parents will be present at the sealing. Temple draws family together, veil that separates us become meaningless. I really take a great deal of comfort in that sense.

Forever family . . . is our ultimate goal. It is enough for mother put in as her last words to me- which was very important to my mother. I was thinking on how when we are given the chance to tell our children some last words before we depart into next life . . . What would we say? What type of things that are we especially want our children to remember? What is our biggest desire? I know one . . . It is being able to meet again in the end. To achieve that, we need to remember always the commandments of God and working towards the ultimate goal which is making our families bond to out last everything. I suppose that mom had that sense that she was having this last conversation with me, so she want to give me that feeling that she is very anxious to have that togetherness after our period of trial.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Mother's Day

Normally when I am putting up a post, I usually know what I am going to say and make a point out of. But today, I am feeling a little lost.

I must confess that I did take a time in trying to decide what I am getting Clint's mother and my mother for their special day. I really have had hard time trying to decide for my mother's. One-she is not around to appreciate books that I normally send and father doesn't appreciate books like my mother does. Finally, I settled on flowers for her grave. Flowers are more expensive when you do mail order. Ugh. I did it anyways. It really is a self conflicted thing. The dead doesn't care much about materials and appreciate thoughts/remembrance more. I think it was more of missing her a great deal because I used to be so excited in choosing a book for mother to enjoy every year.

I think the best gift I can give to her is to memorialize her which I did after her death. I will just drop a few that I know about her . . .

My mother was born on June 15 . . . Year of 1955. She was 5 lbs, few oz and very small baby. I am not certain why she was born so small. Grandpa said it is thought that her mother had rubella while my mother was in-womb. Her parents did not find out how my mother was deaf until when she ran off and her mother called for her. I think she was approximately two years old.
Mother was a beautiful little blonde girl. My mother often wore short hair as she was growing up. Even though, she is pretty, she told me her wish while she was growing up was having longer hair. Meanwhile, while her parents still were together- grandma would be making her lots of nice handmade dresses. My mother would remicise how she loved going over her own grandma's house. Grandma would teach her to crotchet. And while grandma is busy with gardening or in kitchen, mother would wander around in the house, seeing all of those interesting fun things like indian corns hanging on line in garage, rows of beautiful green vegetables, and watching grandma working. I think my mother honestly felt that grandma is the one she relates the best with and with this grandma my mother genuinely felt loved.
My mother had difficult childhood so her times with grandma is one of the most treasured moments in her life. My mother had oral education ever since she entered school. My mother is very smart, self sufficient, and hard worker. All the same, she came in last with many things. She struggled to understand teachers, peers and others. I think my mother spent most of her life trying to act that she understands and avoiding situations that may poise her awkwardly. I recall some stories told to me how she sat back in the classroom because she hoped that teachers won't put her on spot and ask some questions. My mother was so scared to death of that!
When my mother got out of high school, she took a semester or two at college to learn data entry skill. She married my father at age of nineteen and had me at age of twenty. She told me how she managed to persuade my dad into having children just because she wanted so badly to have that joy of having a family of her own. At age of twenty-two, she had Susan and at age of thirty, she had Christina. At age of thirty-four, she lost her husband to cancer. For five years, she was a widow, student, full time income earner, and mother. I know it was difficult for her. She fell short very often. But she came around to help us sometimes when we need it. She has hard time expressing her emotions back then but she told me often later on- how much she loved us. How much she felt proud of us.
At age of thirty-nine, she married my step father. They were deliriously happy! My step-father is around her age and have a lot of active interests like my mother. In beginning of their marriage, they went hiking a lot. My step-father always was encouraging my mother to do fun things like sewing - purchased my mother lots of nice stuff so that she can enjoy it.
At age of fifty, my mother began having health problems. She got a lot of strange diseases that we never ever heard of. They are so much unrelated with family history, genetics, and all. Susan and I felt very frightened about it ever since the death of our mother.
Our step-father . . he is so lonely! We felt so sad! We saw this loneliness our mother had to endure and it broke our hearts knowing that our step father is going through the same thing.
Mother, it almost is a year ever since we lost you. I don't think we are able to stop counting the time we have to be separated. We love you and Happy Mother's Day.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Kindness Goes Long Way

The gentle influence of love called "kindness" that motivate people to look out for the others nearby. I have thought long and hard about the meaning of those such things.

First of all, that gentle, warm, and connected feeling we have is called "love" . . . I have discovered many times in this life that I am more likely to feel love are for those who I share much of needs, dreams, and life with. How do I feel love and kindly towards strangers? Jesus Christ have taught us may times that we need to be kind and loving towards those we don't know. It is truly challenging because it is our nature to be scared of the unknown. What is this stranger's intentions? Would he/she wish us harm? What will they look to us as? For some, we are scared of being looked at as "money tree" to fuel their bad habits?

How can we reach across the bridge of our fears and anxieties? We just need to think . . . how those people want to be loved like we want to be loved. How those people have struggles, doubts and insecurities like us. God gave us scriptures that are over 1,000 years old . . . Because those people have similar circumstances - regardless of their time period- and what they have to share still is applicable to our time. Our prophets have mentioned that there's no such thing as new sin, new temptations, or new issue. It is just same old thing with different face. Why? We all are children of God. We are like Him in many ways. The path we walked was walked before by our ancestors in this life. In different epoch, different place, and even different universe? There were many beings that faced the same thing we faced.

As long as we are children of God, we instantly have something in common.

As for the "kindness goes long way" theme I began out . . . I remember when I was alone, sad, and struggling . There were some people who bothered to reach out, made friend with me, and listened to me. I was so overwhelmed and incredulous . . . Those people had no reason to be kind because they are stranger in the beginning. They cared enough to risk their heart for my own sake.

As we reach out our own sphere knowing that we want to do to those like we want them to do to us . . . We step closer to God. Kindness goes long way . . . It leaves print on our heart, warms us when we are lonely, and inspire us to do the same to the others. Kindness is like a chain of reaction in humanity- like negative emotion can.

18There is no afear in blove; but perfect clove casteth out fear: because fear hath dtorment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

1 John 4

As long as we feel love, we no longer feel fear. Isn't love a such beautiful thing?