A Busy Easter -- and What I Learned in Church

Well, it has been a busy several days. Happy news highlights include Julie's 7:30 a.m. phone call (my time) on Friday to announce that we got awesome seats to the NKOTB concert. I think she said we are in row 10 or something. Which rocks. I could be wrong, though. Because I'm a little hazy at that time of the morning ;).

I worked as receptionist all day again on Saturday. I felt more confident this time, which is good, because a lot more stuff happened this past Saturday than the Saturday before. So, I'm learning how to do all sorts of stuff. Mary was the family service counselor working yesterday, and she and I laugh a lot when we work together. So that's always fun. We are both lovers of the 80s, so we are always making allusions to the awesome decade and seeing if the other picks up on it. And then we laugh and chuckle and have about a million stories to tell. And so, as Mary likes to say, "Good times." Last night I watched Wild Hogs. I just cracked up. Especially in the beginning of the movie. Dad, if you haven't seen this one, you should rent it or something. Or, save it for the next time I see you. It's one I'd like to watch with you, because I know you're going to laugh :).

Today, being Easter, the funeral home had a sunrise service. Not that we could see the sunrise. It was held indoors, because it finally rained -- all day until about 6:00 this evening, after the kiddies hunted eggs inside. Oh well. It is Washington State, after all ;). But anyway, so they had a sunrise service, which they have every year. And then they do a pancake and sausage breakfast for anyone who wants to stay and eat after the service. So, I volunteered to go in, as did my mom. I was ready to go before my mom was -- that's just for the record ;). We got there at about 5:45. Those who know me know that is quite a feat. Most of us were not privvy to the service, since we were busy making orange juice and setting things up. But Mary was there, and she and I had a great time laughing, so it was all good ;). Here are a couple of pictures of the room:




And here are those of us who were on kitchen detail (L to R: Mary, my mom, Sue, Robin, and me):


We all sat down and ate breakfast once everyone else had eaten and gone. There were more of us there than in that picture, but some people were actually cooking at the time of the picture, and a couple were upstairs tending to the service. Anyway, it was enjoyable -- good company and a fun time.

Then my mom and I left and headed for church. Today, the Relief Society Presidency got changed. It was a bit of a shock when I found out (which was actually last Tuesday), because we were all just called in November. So today, I was released as 3rd Counselor in Relief Society and called as 2nd Counselor in Relief Society. Not a huge change in title, but a rather different set of responsibilities. I am looking forward to the new calling. And this, happily, leads me to what I learned in church today. See, I was conducting in Relief Society. And after the lesson, I was thanking the two sisters who spoke on behalf of the entire RS Presidency. Well, one of the sisters I know by her first name. I'd recognize her last name if I heard it, and I'd put her face with the name. But for some reason, whenever I think of her without hearing her last name, I always put the last name "Walker" with her first name, which is Johnnie. So, there I am, and I say, "We'd like to thank ... and Sis. Johnnie Walker..." And she politely corrected me and gave me her correct last name. Which made me feel like a heel. Because I really do know her -- she used to work with my mom in Primary. She's a sweet little old lady who's actually quite a spitfire. So, I was mortified and apologized profusely. And she said, "Oh, it's okay. But Johnnie Walker just isn't a nice name." Meanwhile, I'm mentally trying to figure out who Johnnie Walker is, and why I know that name. Because, seriously, it's always the two names I put together... And finally, as she's trying to explain why Johnnie Walker isn't a "nice" name, someone says, "It's liquor." And the whole room exploded in laughter. And I laughed so hard, and apologized again. And so, there you go... Today, in church -- my teetotaling church -- I learned what Johnnie Walker is. And I learned that it isn't the sweet sister that used to work with my mom in Primary. Classic Nilla, once again. I think this moment ranks up there with the time I stuck my finger in the "fake" desserts that turned out to be not-so-fake.

After church, I was exhausted. Because I've been working all week, and I've been up early every morning. So, I snagged about an hour's worth of z's before I had to head over to Brad and Tarylyn's to watch the kids hunt Easter eggs. Which we did inside, as I mentioned earlier, because it rained pretty much all day long here. It's fun seeing the kids. They really are growing up so fast. Emily turned 4 months old yesterday. It's just unbelievable to me. She's holding her head up like a pro, smiling, and cooing a little here and there. She loves to "stand" -- and she knows what she likes, which is mostly being held.

And, because it is Easter, I feel like I should share something much deeper than the mundane details (and faux pas) of my daily life. So, as I was driving home from Brad's, a memory popped into my head about an insight I gained once. It had more to do with the Savior's Atonement than His Resurrection, but as those two things are kind of tightly intertwined, I feel that this is applicable. I can remember very vividly walking around FoodMaxx in Tuscaloosa the day before I was to head to Dothan for Thanksgiving in 2006. I'd been in Tuscaloosa for about 3 weeks at that point -- and I was so very alone. So, so very alone. It had been almost 6 months since my divorce -- a wound that was still very, very fresh. And I was in such emotional anguish. I can remember walking down the frozen aisle -- not even sure why I was there at this point -- and thinking, "I feel like I can barely hold up under the emotional pain and anguish I'm feeling right now. How did the Savior bear every single pain, sorrow, grief, sickness, and sin of not only me, but of the world? How could He stand it? I cannot even begin to fathom that, because I can barely hold up under this small bit of right now -- nevermind my past and my future." It remains one of the most poignant moments of my life -- that realization of just what my Savior did for me. "Surely He has borne [my] griefs and carried [my] sorrows." And though I cannot fully understand how He was able to do it -- nor need I understand -- I know that He did. And He did it, because He loved me. And because He loved every single person who ever has been and ever will be born. And He did it so that we could return to be with our Heavenly Father. And He was allowed to feel that anguish -- mine, as well as yours, so that he would "know... how to succor his people." Through His Atonement, He broke the bands of spiritual and physical death. And I have every reason to know I am forever blessed because of it.