have I done any good....

I have heard a story of a dad who asked his kids at dinner every night what they had done for someone else that day. Through this he taught them that kindness and service to others was the essence of a good life.

I know that I love it when I can do something for someone else. There are many times when I have felt really restricted on what I could do. When we were newlywed and we saved up enough money to put a deposit + first and last months rent on an appartment so we could move out of my parents' house, we really felt those limits. The apartment was one of two crammed into the basement of an old house. The first night we were there we filled up the vacuum canister with dust out of the apartment. Later it proved to be quite drafty and a great place for spiders! But it was ours. We paid for it with our hard earned money. Instead of commuting 5 hours on a bus each day to and from my parents to our university for a full day of classes and part time jobs, we now could start sleeping a full nights sleep. We ended up in this place because the price was right we could do our laundry, walk to a grocery store and ride the bus 20 minutes to and from school.

Our life was starting to get in order, but we were still dirt poor. We heard at church and our university etc about being generous and serving. What could we really do? One time for our home evening we talked about this. They say if you are going to be a generous person you have to start where you are or you will never be at the place where you feel you can do it. So we needed to begin. What could we do? I distinctly remember that we couldn't be generous with our money. School, food and housing took it all. We decided that the way we could be generous was with our time.... not that we had a lot of it, but the weekends were a little more flexible. We were both musically inclined so we decided sharing music was one of the things we could do. Ward choir. yes. One time we went Christmas carolling on a beautiful snowy night in February. We thought it would bring joy to others and hadn't been able to during the season. We also would drop in on some friends who had a baby grand piano and loved to hear my husband play. We would play and sing for them. Another thing that we did was give our all to the little 3 and 4 year olds that we taught every Sunday at church. We made personal visits to their houses and tried to be friends with them, helping them in their transition to listening and learning gospel lessons in a class setting on Sundays.

Anyway, we still don't have a lot of extra money resources... but there are always ways to give. Today we finished a quilt. The whole family and other unknowing people were involved. Material used was given me from my sister-in-law, mother-in-law and member in ward who got it from a friend, and yarn from my daughter and my deceased mother. I only bought a little thread and yarn to finish off the tying. My kids helped with pinning, my baby gave it alot of approval and love as she rejoiced in it while I worked with the bright materials, and my husband helped with technical decision making, watching kids and unpicking the basted stiches when the quilt was done. It was so neat to do it. It was a consecrated project from the beginning. Originally I was planning on sending it to orphans in Burundi but when that fell through I set it aside until I knew who I was finishing it for. About a month ago I got an idea and soon after I met a lady who enabled my idea to actually happen. Today I delivered the finished quilt to the lady so she can pass it on to someone who I pray will feel God loves them when they snuggle in the warmth of the quilt or rejoice in the beautiful fabrics. It brought me so much joy to do it.

I wasn't going to write about it at all because I don't believe that one should go about saying, look what I did if it really was for service. But then I read an email and saw some numbers. And I just had to find a way to share the message of gratitude for the little things that people do that bring joy to others. I would never have had all the joy I had in planning and carrying out that project had others not given me the material. And it probably seemed to be a small thing to them. Thank you!

My brother-in-law and his wife are some of the greatest people I know and now the combined efforts of others in small things is making a big difference for them. They are among those who have longed to have children but are unable. That hit so hard. Coming to terms with that is further complicated because adoption seemed impossible for them. For a long time they kept their sorrow in. But recently with the encouragement and support of extended family they have decided to open up to others and give others the opportunity to help.

With really wanting to be parents and unable to have biological children adoption is the choice left. It is a very expensive thing in Sweden and has many regulations. You have to prove that you can take care of the kid to a high standard set by the government. A place to live of a certain standard, a steady income, competence in addition to raising the money for the adoption. Oh yeah, very few kids are adopted within Sweden so it is usually a child from another country. (Maybe that explains part of the priceyness).

Until recently they were both studying. She has a side job and works as much as she can. He just finished his training and is looking for a position. They seemed far from their dream in every respect, except the yearning.

Now in opening up they are letting others help them. A savings account was established specifically for the adoption fees. And they have made it so others can donate because the extended family has assured them that while it may not be in large sums, they would help them save for it and were sure others would also love to be part of this.

She came up with the idea to give a small stuffed animal back in appreciation for the donations. So she designed and makes little stuffed 'penguin' animals or the 'longing dolls.' She put them up on display locally and also information on her blog and face book. And through word of mouth, blog and facebook the account is growing. More faith and prayers are being joined with theirs. A big difference is coming their way in a large part because of the small things others are doing. A small sum. A prayer. encouragement. Ideas. Donations of material. It is a possibility.

This month they found an estate sale and obtained a condo at a price they could afford. One step closer. Now they are working at the interior design to bring up the value. Having recently finished his training, he is looking for an apprenticeship in carpentry. I know the number of people praying for him to get a good job is increasing.

I strongly believe that everyone who gets involved in serving others finds great blessings themselves. Maybe it is solely the satisfaction of knowing you helped someone find happiness. Maybe the Lord in turn sends us little and big blessings when we need them. We are all linked.

Thanks for helping me find my happiness as I worked on my latest project. And I hope the happiness will continue to spread for my brother-in-law and his wife, my friends.

(to see more on their longing dolls follow the link to their homepage -it is in Swedish.) http://www.facebook.com/lillalangtan