Two Things Happened Today

[smac97]

Two things happened to me today that I feel like sharing:

 

1. I teach a class on Saturday mornings at a local university.  This morning was the last scheduled class before the final exam, so I wanted to bring my students some donuts, fruit and milk (Saturday morning classes are generally not a lot of fun because . . . they are on Saturday morning).  I was running a few minutes late, and so I was perhaps driving a little faster than usual.  I stopped at an intersection, facing north, with a light and waited for it to turn green so I could go through it and turn left.  The light turned green, and then - despite the fact that I was in a hurry - I headed into the intersection slowly.  It was a strange sensation.  In that instant I found myself wondering why I was driving so slowly when I was in such a hurry.  And in the next instant a blue car traveling eastbound blew through the intersection against the red light going about 45-50 MPH.  I am pretty sure that had I accelerated through the intersection at the normal rate of speed I usually take, that blue car would have rammed into the driver side of my car going 45-50 MPH.  I did not have much opportunity until now to contemplate that experience (I taught my class for 2 hours, then went to my nephew's baptism, then I went to a family get-together, then I took a nap, then I went to a stake priesthood meeting, then I went to get pizza for the kids, then I took my wife to a friend's wedding reception, then I went to a stake conference meeting, then I helped put my kids to bed, so it was a rather busy day).  It was a singular experience.  It almost felt like I was being constrained from proceeding through that intersection as I normally would have.  I feel that I was protected today.

 

2. As I noted above, after I taught my class I hurried to my nephew's baptism.  Here's a picture taken today of that nephew, along with his brother and sister:

 

 

 

I will note here that my family is of mostly Scottish extraction (hence my last name of "Macdonald").  My brother (my nephew's father) is married to a wonderful Samoan woman.  Together they had the two boys in the above picture, and adopted the little girl.  It's hard to tell from the picture, but the boys are wearing lava lava to reflect their Samoan heritage, and are also wearing ties with the Clad Donald tartan pattern to reflect their Scottish heritage (my niece is wearing a dress made by my sister which also incorporates the tartan pattern at the waist and hemline)

 

Anyway, back to the story: I arrived about 20 minutes late, but I arrived in time to hear a talk given by my sister-in-law's sister, who began with a traditional "Talofa" and like response from the audience.  Then came the ordinance itself, which was the important thing. We then waited for my nephew and brother to change into dry clothes, during which time we all sang a beautiful hymn in Samoan.  My brother and nephew then returned to the room for the confirmation, and I was invited to participate.

 

There were, I believe, nine men standing in the circle, including family and friends.  We all gathered in a loose circle around the chair in which my nephew was sitting.  My father, who had been asked to perform the confirmation, stood behind the chair and placed both of his hands on my nephew's head.  Then, in what seemed almost like a choreographed unison, all the other men in the circle stepped forward, turned so that their right shoulders faced inward, placed their right hands on my nephew's head, and each placed their left hand on the shoulder of the man in front of him.  As I closed my eyes I looked at those hands and noticed there were several different hues represented.  Scottish, Samoan, Irish, and others.  It was a calm, peaceful thing to stand together with these good brethren, from many different walks of life, having descended from ancestors from various parts of the globe, having hands with different shades and colors of skin, and coming together in unity to participate in a sacred ordinance.  The impression I had at that moment was something like "The children of men have had a hard time getting along, but the Gospel is uniting them and making them better."  It was a nice feeling.

 

The service concluded with my Samoan sister-in-law bearing her testimony.  We closed with a prayer and then congregated at my brother's house for lunch, which was a rather scrumptious pastiche of Samoan food (made by my sister-in-law and her sister), Hawaiian food (I have a Hawaiian sister, and my family lived in Hawaii for several years while my dad taught at BYU-H), Mexican food (my dad's family on both sides spent several generations in Colonia Juarez and in border areas in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas) and American food.  We all had an enjoyable time talking and getting to know each other better.

 

All in all it was a wonderful celebration of my nephew's baptism, of my family's heritage, and also an indicator that the Gospel can bring us together and allow cultures to be celebrated and cherished.  We are all far from perfect.  We still struggle with getting along.  But I think we are getting better.

 

Thanks,

 

-Smac

Edited April 19, 2015 by smac97

[CCRW]

Thank you for that picture ... beautiful!  I believe in guardian angels.  I think they are family and it sounds like they wanted/needed everyone together.  Any other day, who knows, could have been the hospital.

[Garden Girl]

Thank you so much, smac, for sharing these experiences... what beautiful children... love your Tartan.  When my husband and I visited Scotland, I loved all the tartans designating the clans. 

What a special day for you...

 

GG

[BlueDreams]

I was really confused by your picture and then discussing how it was your nephew's special day. Your niece is so obviously the star of the show in the picture, I thought obviously this has to be her baptism.

 

But I'm glad you're safe and alive and that, overall, yesterday was a good God-filled day.

[smac97]

I was really confused by your picture and then discussing how it was your nephew's special day. Your niece is so obviously the star of the show in the picture, I thought obviously this has to be her baptism.

 

But I'm glad you're safe and alive and that, overall, yesterday was a good God-filled day.

 

LOL.  I see your point.  My neice is only four years old.  She clearly loves that dress.

 

Thanks,

 

-Smac

[BlueDreams]

Can't blame her on that one...it's a beautiful dress!