Charity

We had an absolutely AMAZING Branch Conference last week.  One of the topics that our Branch President felt inspired that we needed to discuss was charity.  Now when I say charity, I am not talking about the "you see a poor, homeless person on the side of the road and offer them something to eat" type of charity.  I am talking about the charity that President Thomas S. Monson discussed when he said "rather than being judgmental and critical of each other, may we have the pure love of Christ for our fellow travelers in this journey through life".

One more thing that President Monson said is "I consider charity-or "the pure love of Christ"- to be the opposite of criticism and judging.  In speaking of charity, I do not at this moment have in mind the relief of the suffering through the giving of our substance.  That of course, is necessary and proper.  I have in mind the charity that manifests itself when we are tolerant of others and lenient toward their actions, the kind of charity that forgives, the kind of charity that is patient.  I have in mind the charity that impels us to be sympathetic, compassionate, and merciful, not only in times of sickness and affliction and distress but also in times of weakness or error on the part of others."

Our Branch President challenged us to be more full of charity.  Right as the Branch President was finishing his remarks, a sister in the branch passed me a note.  She asked if we wanted to go to her house after church for dinner.  This is a sister that used to be my best friend.  This is a sister that I used to see every day, multiple times per day, EVERY SINGLE DAY of the week.  And then all of a sudden one day we didn't see each other.  And we didn't call each other.  Days passed into weeks.  Weeks passed into years.  It has been nearly 31/2 years since we have had anything other than a once a month hello from across the chapel or a quick "saludo" and peck on the cheek as we enter Relief Society.  She was so excited that I accepted the invitation.  She immediately texted her husband and said "You will never believe this, but Heidi said yes.  She is coming to dinner with her family."  Of course, her husband who is in charge of cooking on the weekends, responded by saying "Do we even have any food in our house that we can make for dinner?"  To which she responded, "Heidi is simple.  She doesn't care.  Her family doesn't care.  They will be perfectly content with whatever food we have to offer them."

Bottom line of my story:  We spent more than 5 hours at their house.  Dinner and Family Home Evening turned into dinner, FHE, mending of fences and building of bridges.  We cried, we embraced, we caught up on the last 3 1/2 years of our lives.  She told me that she had wanted to invite me over for over one year now, but she always felt that it wasn't the right time.   She said as she was saying her prayers that morning, she felt once again that she needed to invite us over to dinner.  And then of course, the Branch President's talk sealed the deal.  She KNEW she needed to act on the prompting she had received.

President Thomas S. Monson stated "Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down.  It is resisting the impulse to become offended easily.  It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings.  It is accepting people as they truly are.  It is looking beyond physical appearances and attributes that will not dim through time.  It is resisting the impulse to categorize others."

You know how I feel about charity right about now?  Super duper happy.  I have a long way to go, but I will take one little step at a time.  And I am grateful for a friend that followed the promptings of the Spirit and was able to look past my faults and reach out her hand to help lift me up.