Tag Archive for: blessings

From Birth to Rebirth

On 26th November 1999, at 3:02 am, Monic gave birth to our daughter Megan, 28 days early, a precious gift, she has forever altered the rhythm of our lives.
Twenty-five years later, on 26th November 2024, at 3:30 am, Megan brought her own firstborn child, Oscar, into the world, 12 days late.
Reflecting on this extraordinary overlap of life’s moments, of shared birthdays, made me reflect yet again on God’s providence.

Gospel Parallels

With this profound connection I want to invite you to reflect on the miracle of physical birth and its parallel, the transformative gift of spiritual rebirth through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Birth itself is a remarkable miracle.
It is the culmination of waiting, preparing, and trusting in God’s perfect design.
Just last week, I wrote about Megan’s experience of waiting for Oscar’s arrival, likening it to the gospel principle of trusting in the Lord’s timing.
The Scriptures repeatedly remind us that God’s ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9) and that His plans unfold precisely as they should.
This shared birthday between Megan and Oscar is more than mere coincidence; it’s a divine reminder of the intricate weaving of our lives into God’s eternal tapestry, God-incidence.
As Megan transitions into motherhood, she enters a new season of selflessness, love, and spiritual growth.
For us as grandparents (Oma and Grandad), Oscar’s arrival highlights a legacy of faith, a continuation of priesthood promises, sealed through generations of time.
Holding this perfect little boy in our arms was simply beautiful and joyful!

Rebirth

The timing of Oscar’s birth also echoes the promise of rebirth offered through Jesus Christ.
While physical birth brings us into mortality, spiritual rebirth through covenant living and the grace of God prepares us for eternity.
Christ Himself taught, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).
Just as Megan has given Oscar the gift of life, our Heavenly Father offers us the ultimate gift: the chance to be born again through Christ’s atonement, to become new creatures in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17).
These moments of birth, and the spiritual parallels they draw, urge us to prepare for the ultimate reunion with our Heavenly Father.
Reflecting on the miracle of birth, may we also renew our commitment to the miracle of rebirth.
For in Christ, we find the fulfilment of every promise, the redemption of every waiting season, and the joy of eternal life.
What moments in your life have shown you God’s timing and the hope of spiritual rebirth?

The Blessing of Waiting…

When a mother is expecting her baby, the anticipation grows with each passing day.

For our daughter Megan, now overdue with her first child, the wait may feel endless.

Much like pregnancy, life itself is full of waiting periods that test our faith and refine our patience – a hot topic in our recent conversations!

The Lord’s Timing

Yet this period of waiting and preparing mirrors a gospel principle we are all called to live by: faith in the Lord’s timing.

Through the gospel of Jesus Christ, we learn that God’s blessings come according to His divine timetable, not ours.

In the scriptures, the word wait means to hope, to anticipate, and to trust.

The scriptures teach us: “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” (Hebrews 10:36)

Pregnancy, like life itself, reminds us that much of our joy comes from learning to trust that the Lord knows when blessings should arrive.

Preparation

Just as Megan has prepared her home, her heart, and her body for this new baby, we, too, are asked to prepare spiritually while waiting for answers, blessings, and miracles.

In our home, we have a beautiful painting depicting the Saviour’s parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13).

Five were wise and made the most of their waiting time, ensuring they had enough oil for their lamps.

Similarly, waiting for a baby – just like waiting for any of God’s blessings – is a time to spiritually “gather oil.”

For Megan, the waiting has certainly allowed her to grow in patience and hope, enduring her final quiet and sometimes uncomfortable moments, before life changes forever.

For us in life, it’s about staying spiritually ready, trusting that the Lord’s promises will be fulfilled in His way and time.

The baby’s arrival—whether today, tomorrow, or in a few days—will happen at the exact moment God has lovingly planned.

The scriptures teach that God’s timing is always perfect: “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

Just as birth happens on God’s timeline, not ours, so do the blessings we seek in life.

And when they finally come, the waiting and preparing make the joy that much sweeter.

In this life, we are all “waiting” for the ultimate promise: to return to our Heavenly Father and be reunited with our eternal family.

When Megan holds the baby in her arms for the first time, I’m sure the waiting will be but a memory, a beautiful reminder of the blessing of trusting in the Lord’s perfect plan.

What blessings have you discovered during your own seasons of waiting?

Fruits

And off we went on our morning sabbatical.
We decided to take a route we hadn’t been on for years.
Halfway through we settled on returning home via a yet untried rambling journey!
It was a thoroughly enjoyable exploratory detour!
Taking our time, we discovered hedgerows aplenty, heavily laden with ripe blackberries.
Having recently purchased some blackberries in our local supermarket, we were well acquainted with the astronomical cost of 150 grams (5 oz)!
And here they were in abundance!!
If only we were more prepared.
Our foraging results enabled us to carry a good handful home, a heavenly bounty indeed.
The blackberries were delicious – juicier, fresher, sweeter, tastier and best of all – FREE!
We hadn’t set out to find fruit, but nevertheless it was a magical discovery, much to our delight.

Gospel Fruits

All this wealth of fruit got me thinking about some familiar scriptures.
I know there are many people today looking to satisfy their hunger for meaningful “fruits” in their own lives.
The Lord said to the people in his day, and also to us in His sermon on the Mount: “By their fruits ye shall know them.” – Matthew 7:20.
“For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
“… Every tree is known by his own fruit.” – Luke 6:43-44
In addition, the Apostle Paul lists the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22–23, as “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.”
These fruits are available in our day.
There is a bounteous harvest freely available to all.
In John 15:5 we read “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
Living the gospel of Jesus Christ, yields much delicious fruit.
President Russell M. Nelson said, “My dear brothers and sisters, you are living exemplars of the fruits that come from following the teachings of Jesus Christ.”
If your own foraging has yielded a poor harvest thus far, filled with empty promises, dry, stale, sour and bland fruit, then I suggest you speak with a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I promise you a mouth-watering bowlful of yummy fruit waiting for your enjoyment.

Brolly to the ready

The Dutch love to talk about the weather.
I believe it to be one of their most beloved national pastimes. 😊
…At least that’s what it seems like to me!
And these last few weeks, one thing has dominated lots of conversations.
𝑹𝒂𝒊𝒏!
“April showers” is a well-used phrase that is engrained in our culture – there have been many of late.
It seems to have rained and rained and rained constantly this month.
As a Scot, I am all too familiar with it too!
Recently, my umbrella has been particularly useful.
The fact is, Dutch weather is indeed mild, damp, and windy.
It is comparable to my homeland.
Similarly, in life we have all experienced showers, or seasons of gloominess and sadness.
Sometimes I grumble a little about the rain. You probably do too.
What could be “right about rain?”
Yet, I love the hopeful phrase “right as rain” implying that everything is satisfactory.
Then, I remember that rain is essential for new growth.
April showers help much more than just May flowers.
Spring is a time of renewal and regeneration as things long thought dead, once again spring into a newness of life.
In a like manner, spring is also a time of reenergizing ourselves.
Rain brings 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆.
In Ezekiel 34:26 we read; “And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing, and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing…”
Just like this scripture, we are reminded that even the most unpleasant of things, in this case the heavy rains of April, can bring forth great showers, even an abundance of blessings.
Because of Him, I know that the same God that gives us rain also gives us sunshine.
There are always intermittent rays of sunshine to brighten our days, they’re called missionaries! 😊
Watch carefully, the weather always changes.
Maybe it is time to change your outlook.
There is sunshine ahead!

Consecrated

I gave one of our missionaries a blessing this week and as we talked about consecrated oil, this story came back to mind.
… Some years ago, I was passing through airport security.
Like many times before, I put all my loose items in the security tray.
Picking up my keys, the security officer pointed to one item.
Uncustomarily, he asked “What’s this for?”
“Its an oil vial” I responded.
He looked puzzled.
Explaining further “It’s a religious item. It contains consecrated olive oil for blessings…”
He looked at me rather quizzically, placed them back in the tray and signalled me to move on.
With a large queue of people behind me, I regret that I didn’t take more time to explain.

Religious

What does it mean to 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 something?
“To consecrate is to set apart or dedicate something as sacred, devoted to holy purposes.”
Why olive oil?
Olive oil is used by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in blessing the sick and anointing in the temple.
The consecrated olive oil is then stored in a vial and used when required.

Parables

New Testament parables use oil as a symbol of healing, light, sacredness, purity and the Holy Ghost. (Luke 10:34)
In the New Testament, oil was used to anoint the sick (Mark 6:13; James 5:14). Just as I had done earlier this week.
In a similar manner, all of our missionaries make sacrifices of their time, as they consecrate their service by quietly going about doing good, just like our Saviour, Jesus Christ – see Acts 10:38.
It takes a great desire, dedication, endurance, and obedience to be a missionary.
Jesus Christ demonstrated that a consecrated life, is a life of service.
As they leave their fears behind, we have seen many of our missionaries in Belgium and the Netherlands make great sacrifices to become truly consecrated servants of the Lord.
For us, it is a real joy to be with such consecrated missionaries.
As they consecrate their efforts, the Lord always makes up the rest.
How can you consecrate your efforts to God?

Mothers who Hope

Today throughout much of the world, it’s Mother’s Day.
To each of you dear mothers, we express our sincere gratitude and thanks.
Your precious sons and daughters are safe as they serve here in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Thank you for being marvellous mothers and doing all the things you do.
Thank you for the sacrifices you and your family make every day.
Daily, like you, we hope and pray for the success and happiness of your missionary.
We pledge to guide them, help them, love them, watch over them and treat them as if they were our very own sons and daughters.
We promise you, every single day, we sense as if they really are!
Take a look at our latest mission picture.
This was just before everyone headed off to Keukenhof.
Prior to Keukenhof, we held a morning of service and doing good in the community, which was filled with spiritual insights, magical musical moments, sweet testimonies, and a whole lot of laughter too.

Our Report

Our report is this… your sons and daughters and the mission are thriving!
We have enjoyed the most incredible faith filled last few weeks.
It is a sweet honour and privilege to serve side by side, shoulder to shoulder, with each of your sons and daughters.
We truly work with the greatest young men and women on planet earth.
We know that, and feel that, every single day.
We know too that they love you, so very, very much.
And likewise we know that your love is unconditional, unbreakable, and forever.
The love you have for your son or daughter is like nothing else in the world.

President Nelson

You will recall a recent statement by President Russell M. Nelson… “Our Heavenly Father has reserved many of His most noble spirits—perhaps, I might say, His finest team—for this final phase. Those noble spirits—those finest players, those heroes—are you!”
It is our witness, that each of your sons and daughters are part of “His finest team” here in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Dear Mothers – we pray for the sweetest blessings of heaven, to be poured out upon each of you on this special day.

Christmas Memories

This Christmas season has brought many opportunities to spend time together making memories.
Over the last few months, there have been a number of missionaries who have brought the piano in the mission home to life by playing some wonderful musical numbers.
In our family, over the last couple of days each of us have shared our piano skills.
Yesterday, patiently, lovingly, carefully, Cristi spent an hour or so, practicing some simple Christmas melodies on the piano.
Very slowly and with a little more attention, her confidence grew.
It was the first time she’d sat in front of a piano for many years.
I watched, I listened, I encouraged and occasionally annoyed her too! Dads are good at that sometimes! But for me, I enjoyed the music and simplicity of the tunes. It’ll be an abiding memory that will stick with me for many years to come.
Through it all was family time, with loved ones both near and far.
Catching up, telling stories, playing games, enjoying a delicious meal, video calls and reminiscing on Christmas’s past. It’s just about spending time together, talking, laughing, sharing, serving, loving, and making memories.
There were far fewer gifts this year, but what I learned is that creating good memories are real blessings.
The spirit of service was very real in our home yesterday.
May we give as the Saviour gave.
I learned too that families don’t really want or need anything from you, but your love, your time, and your memories.
Think on your own life.
What abiding memories do you have of Christmas past and present?