Visiting Teaching Message

I can't stop thinking about this month's visiting teaching message.

If I were in charge of choosing the Visiting Teaching Message for December, I would have picked something about joy, or service, or the birth of the Savior.  As I saw the title of the message this month I started to tear up.  By the end of the message I was a blubbering mess.  (And I was thankful that I wasn’t responsible for choosing the message…oh how inspired those sisters are!)

This month’s message is about compassion.  I always thought of compassion as helping someone that couldn’t help themselves but, in the scriptures, compassion means literally ‘to suffer with.’

The phrase, “mourn with those that mourn” kept coming to my mind.

Christmas is the happiest time of the year for us!  We have so much joy in our family and with little kids in our home Christmas magic is overflowing!

However, for so many, Christmas is extra hard.  Some are mourning the loss of a loved one, maybe a spouse, friend, or child.  Some are mourning the family they don’t have.  Some may be struggling with financial burdens.  And so many other trials that seem to be magnified during the holiday season.

I love Sister Linda Reeves.  She is one of my all-time favorite heroes.  In this month’s message, she said,

            “My husband and I knelt by the side of our 17-year-old daughter and pleaded for her life. The answer was no, but … we have come to know … that … [the Savior] feels compassion for us in our sorrows. 

           

 “One of my favorite stories from the Savior’s life is the story of Lazarus. The scriptures tell us that ‘Jesus loved Martha, … her sister [Mary], and [their brother] Lazarus.’” When Lazarus became ill, word was sent to Jesus, but when He arrived Lazarus had already died. Mary ran to Jesus, fell down at His feet, and wept. When Jesus saw Mary weeping, “he groaned in the spirit, and … wept” 

            “That is our charge. We must feel and see for ourselves and then help all of Heavenly Father’s children to feel and see and know that our Savior has taken upon Himself not only all our sins but also our pains and our suffering and afflictions so that He can know what we feel and how to comfort us.”

I am thankful for leaders that rely on the spirit for inspiration and I am thankful for a Savior that knows and loves me and each of His children.

In our family, we have had several experiences being on the recipient end of others' compassion.  We are thankful for the kindness of others, their generosity and Christ-like examples.  We are going to try extra hard to follow those examples and find ways to show compassion to other this Christmas season!

I LOVE this video!  My biggest prayer is that I can raise my boys to be like the boys in this video.  I'm so glad I married a man that is like the dad in this video too.  Hopefully my kids will just watch him and learn from his example.