Monday Message

"More than ever before, we need to learn and apply the principles of economic self-reliance. We do not know when the crisis involving sickness or unemployment may affect our own circumstances. We do know that the Lord has decreed global calamities for the future and has warned and forewarned us to be prepared."(President Ezra Taft Benson)

I thought 2020 covered this with all that and more.

This new year will continue on with the pandemic for at least the first six months so we need to continue doing the safe things we learned. When we were told to wear masks, it was to keep you and others safe. We need to continue to listen to the CDC and others who know the best what we need to do. It is not stomping on your rights, it is to keep you alive so you can have rights.

Are we tired of snow and cold yet??

Did you keep a journal of this past year? If not, it isn't too late to start now to journal about what has happened, how you managed, etc. This will help those who come after. We need to let them know what worked and what didn't.

What it was like sheltering at home.

What things did you have happen besides the pandemic? And how did you deal with it? For us it was the Derecho.

It has been a trying year, that much is certain.

We made cloth masks for our families.

The call came for sewists in Iowa to make masks because they were having trouble getting PPE...And we all worked hard doing that.

We learned about grocery pick-ups. We learned to have virtual church meetings.

We all learned computer skills we never knew existed.

We learned everyone goes for toilet paper in an emergency setting.

We learned about cooking from scratch.

We learned to spray parcels and wipe down groceries.

We learned how to zoom and to be together but apart.

We learned that when life is the hardest we could still do it.

We learned even when we have to skip our traditions for holidays it did not kill us and we even tried some new things.

We learned it is very easy to be a hero...by wearing masks.

But most of all we learned!

So while you will never forget, some generations from now they will want to know about it. And if it ever happens again they will learn from us.

But let us prepare for what is yet to happen, something we do not know is coming, so put ourselves in the position to be ready by having some toilet paper ahead by having food storage and other things we need ahead. We will never feel over secure again, we have lost that feeling that it can't happen to us because it has and could again happen to us. We learned there are good people, we learned that if we can do nothing at least we can pray.

If you ever watched Disney's RocketMan...we want to be like Randall and not Gary in the isolation chambers that are our homes. So if you haven't watched that movie now is the time as we are still in our homes trying to not add to the burden of our medical system.

It will take a long time to get back jobs and get back on our feet but we are stronger for it.

We need to look for a silver lining no matter how hard it is to find.

Sometimes the last mile is the longest. Missy says just hang on tight, we aren't done yet.