Blythe was asked to speak in church today. I've been urging her to prepare something for several days, and last night, concerned with what she had written, I asked her to read me her talk. I was so pleased when she read what she had come up with. After ice skating yesterday, she felt inspired to talk about resilience, getting back up after we've fallen, and finding the good in life. She didn't have a scripture or quote from a general authority, so I looked for something she might like to add. I found a good quote from President Nelson, and with that addition and one scripture, her talk was fabulous. Today, she delivered her message with calm self assurance and clear diction. Even over Zoom it must have been good because I almost immediately got very positive feedback from several people in the ward.
Blythe is a remarkable young woman. I'm not just saying that because I'm her mom, either. So many others think the same thing, because it is true. I was pleased with Blythe's honesty in what she shared. She is still working to gain her own testimony, a process that is often difficult and always incredibly personal. She is making efforts and looking for the good, and I think she is just terrific.
I tried to be sly about taking this picture.
Before the meeting started, I sat down in a row all by myself and put up the phone.
Mandy Ficker, two rows back, said, "I see you."
I promised to return to my seat and be reverent the rest of the meeting.
Here is Blythe's talk:
Hi, for those who
don’t know me, my name is Blythe Barrus. I’m 12 years old and have lived in
this ward my whole life. My talk is about picking yourself back up. Yesterday I
was out ice skating. There was a guy there, ice skating as well, and I noticed
something about him. He was really good at ice skating. And when I say really
good, I mean it. He was gliding over the ice, doing twirls and skating
backwards. As I skated around the rink I was watching him out of the corner of
my eye when he twirled, and fell. He laughed, stood up, whipped the snow from
off his pants and tried the twirl again. He fell a second time. He tried a
third time and executed the twirl perfectly.
There were some other people who I
noticed fall down. There were two types of people when falling. There were the
people who stood up, dusted themselves off and skated away. Or the second type.
The people who went off to the sidelines.
I sometimes like to think of life as
a snowglobe. We live in this little snow globe village, living our lives, doing
our work, waiting for good or bad things to happen. Sometimes life gets bored.
So life comes over to the mantle, picks up our snow globe and turns our world
upside down. But we get to choose how we fix it.
There's a quote I like that says ‘We
can’t choose what wounds us, only what seals the scar’. I was talking with a
friend once and she was in a bad mood. So she obviously being a bit negative. I
asked her if the glass was half empty or half full. She told me that she knew
that I was going to say the glass was half full.
However I told her she was missing
the point. The glass is refillable. When she told me that didn’t make sense, I
told her that even if the glass is half empty or half full, you won’t be going
thirsty. When the ice skater fell he didn’t let that stop him. He got right
back up and tried again. Life is going to shake our snow globe up. We can’t
stop it. But we can always work through it.
When something bad
happens, or I feel kinda low I think of my friends and my family, and count all
the positive things that are going on right now.
Maybe the sky looks really pretty,
or maybe it's warm outside. Maybe I get to hangout with a friend, or see
friends at school. Maybe I get to have something I really like for dinner, or
maybe I get to help out at Sister Rasmussen’s, something I really enjoy. It's
small, and it's simple, but it helps me look at all the good things. Maybe I
didn’t get a toy I really wanted or maybe I wasn’t allowed to build a fort in
my room, but that's alright.
There's an audio clip I found one
day called Dear Best Friend. I love sending things like quotes to my friends to
make them feel better. In this audio clip it says “I’m not mad, I’m just in
pain. But what's the sun without a little rain right?” and in another part it
says “I will stand tall and stay strong. Because I know you wouldn’t want to
see me fall.”
There may be some things about the
church that I don’t agree with. There are going to be rocky times that I have
with God or my faith. There is going to be a time where I have to choose who I
want to be. And who I want to follow. I hope, with all my heart, that I choose
God. Because I know in my heart that he is real. I may never have a vision, or
have an angel visit me, but I don’t need one. I have my testimony and my
belief.
President Nelson says in his talk Face
The Future With Faith quote “Why do we need such resilient faith? Because
difficult days are ahead. Rarely in the future will it be easy or popular to be
a faithful Latter-day Saint. Each of us will be tested. The Apostle Paul warned
that in the latter days, those who diligently follow the Lord “shall suffer
persecution.” That very persecution can either crush you into silent weakness
or motivate you to be more exemplary and courageous in your daily lives. How
you deal with life’s trials is part of the development of your faith. Strength
comes when you remember that you have a divine nature and inheritance of
infinite worth. The Lord has reminded you, your children, and your
grandchildren that you are lawful heirs, that you have been reserved in heaven
for your specific time and place to be born, to grow, and become His standard
bearers and covenant people. As you walk in the Lord’s path of righteousness,
you will be blessed to continue in His goodness and be a light and a savior
unto His people.” end quote
Like the ice skater who fell over,
we need to continue to pick ourselves up when we fall and find strength and
courage in the Lord. In Doctrine and Covenants 98:3 The Lord gives this promise
to each of us, quote “all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall
work together for your good and to my names glory.”
I say these things in the name of
Jesus Christ Amen.
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