Week 14: Charity.

Another long one:)

"And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things..if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail." Moroni 7 45-46

This is an excerpt from my journal during my second year of Young Women's Girls Camp:
"We just got through with a lesson from one of the sister missionaries. She told us about a ton of amazing ladies that have been in the church and how the grounds are named after them. [My YW leader] got up after she left, and told us that she felt prompted to tell us that there will come a time in our life when we have to decide what kind of person we are going to be. She said the decision may be now, or then years from now, but when it comes, or even before, we should pick someone to model ourselves after."

That day I chose a handful of women that I hoped to be like someday.  That list has been added to many times since I was 13, and it continues to grow. I didn't realize it at the time, but now as I reflect back on those ladies, they all have at least one thing in common. They have all taught me something about charity.

I've thought a lot about what I wanted to post tonight. A few days ago I spent a lot of time reading my old journals looking for specific examples of times when these ladies showed me charity, and I found a lot. Surprisingly, none of them seemed right to include in the post.... I think the reason why none of the experiences felt quite right was maybe because
1. I didn't want to box in my idea of "charity." It's not something you an "arrive" at. Charity, I think, is a lot of things, and  I felt with each combo of experiences I tried, I wasn't able to capture what my actual perception of charity is.
2. This list of ladies is pretty long, there's no way I could include an experience with each one of them that portrayed what they taught me about charity, but there's no way I could just leave one or two out because without them, my perception is totally altered.

Conclusion: Charity is a lifestyle. I don't think that's really news to anyone, but it's something I think is definitely worth thinking about. Maybe the real reason I couldn't find experiences I wanted to write about is because charity can't be rolled up into "an experience."

When I think of my definition of charity, I think of mango cherry popsicles, tutoring in math, and many hours spent rehearsing for performances. I think of giving 12 year-old girls hope that they could become something worth being proud of. I think of standing up for a first-year  news staff member who hasn't quite learned how to work in the system. I think of silly camp songs about cheeseburgers or Noah, odd jobs, and new skills. I think of dead animal rooms with giant moose heads, and eating my first artichoke. I think of the best mom I could ever ask for who was raised by a pretty incredible woman herself. I think of aunts who take me shopping, or support me in my latest money making venture. I think of Christ-centered homes where friends are always welcome.

From rolling on the floor with laughter (sometimes literally), to tearful embraces, to some of the strongest testimonies I've ever heard, these women exemplify exactly what I think it means to be a charitable disciple of Christ.

In my ward each year, every day of Young Womens' camp you were assigned a "secret sister" for the day. Your job was to keep an eye on that sister all day and at the end of the day, all the girls and leaders from the ward stood together in a circle and said the things we noticed  about our "secret sister" or just the things we love about them. One night, when it was my turn to talk about a leader who has had a pretty significant impact on me, I got a little teary thinking about how grateful I am for her influence. That night I recorded this, "How can you possibly express your love to someone you feel so indebted to?"

Isn't that kinda how it works with Christ? He has given us so much, how can we possibly show Him our gratitude when the debt is so big?

I'm no expert, and I'm not sure I'll ever be, but here's one way:

 "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God"  (Mosiah 2:17)

According to the Bible Dictionary, Charity is "The highest, noblest, strongest kind of love...the pure love of Christ."

If there's one thing those women have taught me, it's that people, all people, ought to be loved.  Regardless of who they are, or what choices they make, everyone needs someone who believes in them and who is constantly rooting for them. They showed me their love through their constant attitude of charity, and I am so grateful for their examples.

I'm gonna wrap up with this quote by Marvin J. Ashton:

"Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don't judge, or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone's differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn't handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another's weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other."

I'm grateful for that YW leader and the challenge she made to me to pick women to model my life after. To me that was an act of charity, and that simple challenge really has made a lasting impact in my life.

Anyways, I hope throughout my life that I will be able to develop a lifestyle of charity, and that eventually I will be able to love people as Christ would have me love them!