Daily Bread Feb. 25

Pass It On
By Nancy Hylton of Seattle, WA, USA


God, the Eternal Creator, weeps for the poor, displaced, mistreated, and diseased of the world because of their unnecessary suffering. Such conditions are not God’s will. Open your ears to hear the pleading of mothers and fathers in all nations who desperately seek a future of hope for their children. Do not turn away from them. For in their welfare resides your welfare. —Doctrine and Covenants 163:4a

Our house filled with company the first week of January. Our exchange student daughter from Finland was visiting on her way to study in Vancouver, BC, Canada. My younger daughter asked if we could talk for a minute. “Mom, can my friend Kathy sleep here tonight?”

Even though the household was busy, there was something urgent in her voice. My immediate answer was yes. I asked what was happening. She said her friend was outside. Her mother kicked her out of the house, and she didn’t have any place to go! It became clear this was more than a one-night stay. I asked my daughter to work out a plan to get another bed in her small bedroom, and we moved her dresser to the basement.

Her friend was having a hard time living with her stepdad, and it saddened me to learn her mom had chosen to side with the stepdad. We found the girl to be helpful and easy to live with. After a few weeks, she reconciled with her parents and returned home. The following September, my daughter came to me again, asking this time if her friend could live with us for her senior year. She had been through other living arrangements, including as a live-in babysitter and housekeeper for her sister, and it was taking a toll on her health and studies.

She moved in, became a part of our family, caught up with her studies, and graduated high school with my daughter the following June. I smile as I think of her now, a happy wife and mother of two great girls and an accountant. We never know the result of little acts of kindness. Opportunities often present themselves as a risk; it is easy to find many reasons not to do something. God continues gently to lead us on many journeys and never leads us astray. God’s love continues to bless us all.

I am reminded of “Pass It On,” a camp song by Kurt Kaiser. “It only takes a spark to get a fire going…That’s how it is with God’s love…you want to pass it on” (©1969 by Lexicon Music, Inc.).

May we continue to drop the pebbles of God’s love and concern in the ponds of life, trusting that God will carry the waves where they need to go.

Prayer for Peace

Loving God, we receive your love with gratitude and know it is not ours alone to keep. Direct our attention to where your love is needed most. Direct our actions to where peace is needed most.

Spiritual Practice: Hand Ministry

Place your hand on a piece of paper and trace around it. Add details of fingernails, wrinkles, or skin color if you want. Look at your hand and meditate on what you do with your hands each day. Ask God to direct your thoughts to a person in need of blessing, kindness, or healing touch. Pray for wisdom about the specific act needed by this person and discern how and when you will use your hands to complete this ministry.

Peace Covenant

Today, God, I will pass on joy, hope, love, and peace.

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