As Sisters in Zion

This song has come to my mind many times over the past two weeks. It has always been a favorite but there are times in our lives when hymns take on new or deeper meaning. As a sister who lives so far away from her sister in need, I have been comforted by the stories I have heard of the brothers and sisters in my sister's ward stepping in to help her family and what I witnessed while in Utah for TJ's funeral. I thought I would share a few of those instances with you as well as a beautiful version of the song "As Sisters in Zion" I found on You Tube of all places…

My sister's family had been in the process of buying a new house and moving when they found out about the complications TJ had. Jennifer went into labor 4 weeks before her due date, 3 weeks before she was scheduled to be induced and while they were still in the process of moving. They bought a house in Sandy that had not been updated since the early 80's and the day she went into labor Jennifer had unfinished floors throughout her house, painters that needed to come back and touch up paint, boxes and furniture in the garage and her combined family of 11 were living out of the only three rooms in the house that were finished. This is what Jennifer and Tony returned home to after she delivered their little boy who only lived 2 hours.

On Sunday, two days after giving birth, Jennifer and Tony got up, dressed their children and went to church with them. She didn't make it through sacrament before she broke down and returned home. At some point during the meeting the bishop announced that there was a new family in the ward who had just had a baby die and who needed help unpacking. After church their house was standing room only with people who had come to help unpack boxes and move furniture. My mom said it was so crowded it was hard to move.

Meals were brought in the whole time I was there - they may still be being brought in. The sisters of the ward didn't just bring a meal for the family. They brought enough food to feed the additional family who were in town for the funeral as well. They didn't just bring food - they brought good food that took time out of their day and budgets to prepare.

The ward prepared lunch for us after the funeral. I know this is customary but somehow when it is your family and the ward doesn't even know you, it is more significant. The tables were set with tablecloths and there was a small vase with fresh flowers in the center of each table. On the table where the food was set up, there was a beautiful vase of roses that were cut from a sister’s garden that morning and sent home with Jennifer after lunch.

Jennifer's neighbor and her daughter came over the day of the funeral and took the youngest three children to the park for several hours. They did this after having worked a full day.

Sisters from the Relief Society showed up the day after the funeral to unpack and organize the kitchen. Brethren from the priesthood showed up the following night to move the boxes and remaining furniture into the house.

A sister in Jennifer's ward, who was gone on vacation the week of the funeral, heard about Jennifer and came over to visit. She had lost a baby 30 years ago and she came to comfort a virtual stranger whose pain she could understand. They sat on Jennifer's couch and wept together over their babies.

One of the things that touched me the most was really something simple but profound and was a lesson from my sister. She gave me a shopping list of clothes for the funeral. On the bottom of the list was a small to do list of things she needed to do. On the list of 4 things she needed to do was “tithing”. I don’t know if that will be powerful to anyone else but it was to me. My sister (and her husband) gave birth to their baby, watched him die, planned his funeral- that cost thousands of dollars - but their “to do” list still reminded her to pay tithing.

I am grateful for the sisters (and brothers) in Zion who have endeavored to comfort the weary of my family. I have thought over the past week that I would love to live in Utah where members serve each other like they have my sister. As I was writing this, I was reminded that 5 years ago, after Jennifer’s previous husband died unexpectedly, our bishop at the time, mowed her lawn every week when he mowed his. He did this for almost a year until Jennifer moved to Utah. We need to bloom where we are planted and I am grateful for my bishop in my ward who saw a need and quietly did more than his part. I hope that I will strive more diligently to be mindful of those in my ward and even those who are strangers to me who need comfort and strength. I hope that I can stretch beyond my own insecurities and weaknesses to be a better Sister in Zion.








As sisters in Zion, we’ll all work together;
The blessings of God on our labors we’ll seek.
We’ll build up his kingdom with earnest endeavor;
We’ll comfort the weary and strengthen the weak.

The errand of angels is given to women;
And this is a gift that, as sisters, we claim:
To do whatsoever is gentle and human,
To cheer and to bless in humanity’s name.

How vast is our purpose, how broad is our mission,
If we but fulfill it in spirit and deed.
Oh, naught but the Spirit’s divinest tuition
Can give us the wisdom to truly succeed.
(Hymns, no. 309)

Sources of Service

I know several of you have read the blog audreycaroline.blogspot.com and been amazed and inspired by the mother of Audrey Caroline. I first found this blog through Jenni's blog - thanks Jenni - and fell in love with it. My connection to this blog was largely because we had just learned about my nephew and the complications he was facing in the womb. I loved that this sweet family, who I only know through their blog, had the opportunity to have so many beautiful pictures with their baby girl and that all their pictures will not be sad ones.

One of the things I learned as I did some research for my sister is that many families who face a trial like Angie and my sister have only Polaroid’s of their babies to carry them through their loss. Ironically I related to this in a small way because I was handed a Polaroid of Jeremy before he was transferred by ambulance out of the hospital where he was born and where I had to stay, to the hospital where he would have surgery at one day old. I sat in my hospital bed with that Polaroid on my lap as Jeremy was in surgery waiting to hear if he had made it through the surgery. It is amazing what comfort one Polaroid can bring but in a time of grief, professional pictures must mean so much more.

This week Newsweek had an article about an organization called "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep." Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep is a national group of photographers who volunteer their time and services to families who are facing poor perinatal prognosis. The photographers are on call and come to the hospital to capture pictures for families. All of their services, including the photos, are provided at no cost to the families. I am very grateful the nurses at University of Utah called their photographer on call and that my sister and her family will also have more than a Polaroid of TJ.

Although I already knew about NILMDTS I still wept when I read the article last Sunday. In a world where we hear so much of discontent and unkindness, it is amazing to read stories that speak to the depth of compassion that exists in places one might never think to look.