March 21, 2021
Dear 5th Ward Family
It has been an interesting week for the Brooks family, with more ups and downs, twists and turns, than the scariest rollercoaster. At the end, though, we have a new grandson, his mother is doing well, and Lori is back home for at least a few days while she continues to recuperate.
It’s funny how life can seem to be going along in a fairly smooth way when all of a sudden, everything changes. President Kim Taylor used to say “The Lord will have a humble people”. I know exactly what he meant when he said that.
Not surprisingly, Lori was not sure I should have put anything in last week’s letter about her injury. I wondered about it as well, but felt like I should share because after all, we are family.
A huge thank you to those who called and reached out to Lori and me. Knowing others care brings a sense of calm and love that eases stress and tension and can alleviate pain. We love our ward members.
So, I was in Medicine Hat all week while Lori was being babysat by her daughters in Calgary. Even though I wasn’t the one hurt, I have to confess I was starting to feel sorry for myself, thinking I was all alone. It’s funny how prayers are answered. I had several emails and calls about ward matters that came from people I really respect and love. They had no idea that their calls were exactly what I needed to get me to stop worrying about myself and our situation and start focussing on serving others.
But even with that reminder, I guess God knew I needed something else. For me, that was stumbling on a rebroadcast of the 25th Anniversary Concert for Les Miserables. I know I’ve said before that Les Mis is my absolute favourite musical of all time. I was first introduced to it by our son, James, who was studying the Victor Hugo novel in high school English. His teacher recommended that the students watch the 10th Anniversary Concert special if they could find it. Now James was not a fan of theatre, musical or otherwise. When I was involved in the Carriage House Theatre and grew to love the stage, James would come to a performance, stretch out his 6’6” frame in his seat, put his head back and tell his sister Haley to “Wake me up when dad comes out.” And then he’d fall asleep.
So, when James called up to Lori and me to hurry down to watch this amazing singer, I was both surprised and a little hesitant. But we went down into the basement and there on the screen was Colm Wilkinson singing “Bring Him Home”. It was the first time I had ever heard the songs of Les Mis sung, and created in me a fascination and love for that amazing production and its music and message.
Now don’t misunderstand, I love music just for music’s sake, but a musical that takes it to the next level with a message as deep and hopeful as Les Miserables truly speaks to my soul.
The story follows a petty thief as he, because of a kindness shown to him by a bishop following years of imprisonment, spends the rest of his life on a journey of redemption. The characters he encounters along the way bring meaning to his life when he thought all was lost.
The lyrics of this musical masterpiece are both haunting and profound:
Take my hand
And lead me to salvation
Take my love
For love is everlasting
And remember
The truth that once was spoken:
To love another person is to see the face of God
Just reading those words brings tears to my eyes. The author was truly inspired, for we believe the same thing. How do we show love for God? We obey His commandments and serve others. How do we serve others? By loving them and helping them through their trials. What is our reward for doing that? Eternal life with our Father in Heaven, where we can see His face forever, along with those whom we love.
Or this passage:
One day more!
Another day, another destiny.
This never-ending road to Calvary;
This describes our journey through life, which, while it might seem arduous and never ending, indeed has a destination, an opportunity to spend life eternal with our families in the presence of our Saviour, thanks to His atoning sacrifice. But for that sacrifice, that opportunity would have been lost to us.
Then, finally:
God on high
Hear my prayer
In my need
You have always been there
Who among us has not fallen to our knees in anguish, hope and faith when we seek God’s blessing on a loved one who is in desperate need. Like Jean Valjean, we would gladly give up our own lives to save the life of another. That is when we truly feel just a little of what our Saviour felt when He first knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane, then again later when He hung from the cross. It is a Christlike love for another that brings us closer to him and hopefully inspires us to live our lives in a better way.
It was probably helpful that President Monson’s Biography “To the Rescue”, published in 2010, became available about the time I became obsessed with Les Miserables. In it, he said:
“The sweetest experience in mortality is to know that our Heavenly Father has worked through us”
Counting a letter to the sisters on Mother’s Day and the Christmas letter of 2020, this will be my 55th letter to the ward since Covid. I began to write to you to simply keep you informed of the things that were happening during a year of incredible change and opposition. I then found that I was opening up to you a little bit about some of my inner thoughts, feelings and beliefs. I have found that I have developed a profound love for each one of you by being able to express my feelings to you. I see your faces as I sit before my keyboard and try to give you a message of hope. It is my prayer that you feel my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and of His sacred teachings. We strive as a people to become perfect, even though we know that the road to perfection is one we will travel every day of our mortal lives without truly finding success. But He is there to guide and direct us, and we are each there to provide support and encouragement to our fellow travellers.
Let me share with you something I found in my “in box” this past week.
“Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus.
Finally, there was only one other family between us and the ticket counter. This family made a big impression on me.
There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. The way they were dressed, you could tell they didn't have a lot of money, but their clothes were neat and clean.
The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns, animals, and all the acts they would be seeing that night. By their excitement you could sense they had never been to the circus before. It would be a highlight of their lives.
The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be. The mother was holding her husband's hand, looking up at him as if to say, "You're my knight in shining armor." He was smiling and enjoying seeing his family happy.
The ticket lady asked the man how many tickets he wanted? He proudly responded, "I'd like to buy eight children's tickets and two adult tickets, so I can take my family to the circus." The ticket lady stated the price.
The man's wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, the man's lip began to quiver. Then he leaned a little closer and asked, "How much did you say?" The ticket lady again stated the price.
The man didn't have enough money. How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn't have enough money to take them to the circus?
Seeing what was going on, my dad reached into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill, and then dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!) My father bent down, picked up the $20 bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket."
The man understood what was going on. He wasn't begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking and embarrassing situation.
He looked straight into my dad's eyes, took my dad's hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip quivering and a tear streaming down his cheek, he replied; "Thank you, thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family."
My father and I went back to our car and drove home. The $20 that my dad gave away is what we were going to buy our own tickets with.
Although we didn't get to see the circus that night, we both felt a joy inside us that was far greater than seeing the circus could ever provide.
That day I learned the value to give.
The giver is bigger than the receiver. If you want to be large, larger than life, learn to Give. Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only with what you are expecting to give - which is everything.
The importance of giving, blessing others can never be over emphasized because there's always joy in giving. Learn to make someone happy by acts of giving.”
~ Katharine Hepburn
(from Everything Good in the World)
My hero, Jean Valjean, discovered this same principle as he fought for his personal redemption. We can all do likewise. It was Christ’s gift to us that makes our own rescue possible, after all we can do.
Remember about Stake Conference on March 27 and 28. We have tickets for the Adult session and for the Sunday morning regular session.
Stay safe, stay healthy and social distance,
We love you all.
Bishop Brooks
