May 2, 2021
Dear 5th Ward Family
Another week has come and gone and as we enter the beginning of another tax period, I'm reminded of a cartoon I once saw where the character sealed his tax return and then placed it in a mail box with the comment “April 30, my annual brush with a felony”.
I’m not suggesting that is how we should feel about this time of year, but there is no question with all the trials and issues we have been going through with Covid, the fact we are also dealing with our yearly accounting of our financial success, or lack thereof, might seem to be just a little too much.
On the other hand, it might well be those “normal” things that have allowed us to not completely lose our minds during this past 14 months. Some of the everyday things that we have been able to maintain have perhaps helped us weather the storm of this particularly cruel upset of what was once our normal routine. It’s likely that social scientists will study the effect for many years to understand that we as a people yearn for stability and predictability in our lives.
In large part, I am once again reminded of the truthfulness and tranquility of the gospel of Jesus Christ and how He manages His church through inspired prophets. Almost from the outset, the beauty of the “home centered, church supported” program quickly allowed us to fill the void that cancellation of regular meetings could have left. Technology allowed us to meet and remain in contact with friends and family in ways that just a few years ago would have been unthinkable.
I can’t help but think we are a witness to a series of innovations and modifications that, taken together, are nothing short of miraculous and have done much to allow us to maintain human contacts, albeit virtual, that have preserved our mental, spiritual and emotional health.
Let me give you an example that I hope illustrates my point.
As grandparents, one of the most painful results of the pandemic has been an enforced separation from family, and in particular our grandchildren who, we have discovered, bring us more joy in a few minutes than we could have ever imagined. We have yet to meet one of them because the border remains closed, but we have seen him go from a tiny infant, just arrived from heaven, to a four-month baby with his own personality who laughs and coos and follows every movement of his parents and older brother. That we can see that live, as it happens, using a device my 5-year-old granddaughter knows more about than I ever will is absolutely amazing and should be to anyone over the age of 50.
Just the other day, our oldest daughter told us another story of the adventures of Brynn, her 7-year-old grade 1 daughter who sees life in her own little way and who’s joie de vie is positively infectious.
Not long ago, an amazingly thoughtful and generous ward member gave Lori a “Fancy Nancy” book so she could read it to the grandkids when they visited. Lori has done that, many times, and that book has a treasured place in our home.
Brynn, in particular, was immediately enamored with the story of the little six-year-old girl with a larger than life view of the world and everything in it. In many ways, she is our families “Fancy Nancy”. So, Lori bought her more of the books for Easter, which she immediately started to read.
One book introduced the idea of a spa. Brynn decided that having a home spa would not only provide all of the benefits to body and mind, but it could perhaps be a way for her to earn some spending money. She decided to offer one-minute massages for $10 and convinced her 8-year-old brother to help her with the posters advertising the service and price.
Now, Brody had just read an introductory book on economics, and quickly pointed out to her that there would likely be no profit in the enterprise she was undertaking because, as he put it, no one is going to pay $10 for a 1-minute massage. She thought about it for a moment, then crossed out the 1 and replaced it with a backwards “2”, so now rather her charging $600 per hour for her services, she’s content to earn $300 for 60 minutes. Surprisingly, she has yet to have any customers, likely because her client pool is fairly shallow as it is restricted to the other four members of her household and one of them, her younger sister, decided to open up her own home spa and give away massages for free because she doesn’t need money as her mom and dad buy her what she needs already. Her budding economist brother pointed out the financial flaw in that plan as well, but she seems happy with her decision, much to Brynn’s chagrin.
I got this story from our daughter, who shared it with me via technology. It made my day. How blessed we are to be able to connect in real time.
So, I think the message this week is to persevere despite our current challenges, or as we are reminded, “this too shall pass”.
This past weekend, I heard a story of resilience that inspired me.
Sean Kazmar Jr. is a baseball player who was born August 5, 1984 (coincidentally we share a birthday) and drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2004. He played almost 4 seasons in the minor leagues before he was called up by the Padres in August of 2008 where he spent 19 games with them.
For the next almost 13 years, he played on a variety of Triple A teams, the last 8 seasons with the Atlanta Braves’ Triple A affiliate. He’s played over 1000 games in the minors, never having been given the opportunity to again put on a major league uniform.
Until April 17, when he was recalled by the Braves to join the major league team, 12 years and 206 days since his last major league appearance, the longest gap between appearances in more than 60 years.
He has received hundreds of congratulatory messages, the limited fans in a game between the Braves and the Cubs began chanting “we want Kazmar”, and his story has gone viral.
I can only imagine how many times he wanted to simply give up his dream and move on to something else, or how many times people close to him advised him to become realistic and try his hand at a new career.
Now, there’s no guarantee his struggles aren’t over, and he might find this moment of success short-lived, but he’s seen his dream realized again. I think there’s a real lesson there of never giving up and of working toward a positive result in spite of the obstacles that arise.
I am again reminded that we can either focus on the challenges of life or the successes and the choice can make all the difference in our attitude and outlook.
We love you all.
Stay safe, stay healthy and social distance.
Bishop Brooks
