Following Allison through her conversion to the gospel and through her progress as a new member has been something really wonderful for the Kennedy family. We have had focused prayers as a family for her and for Mark, we have had some soul-searching conversations with Allison, and we have been able to share in the joy of seeing someone we love be baptized.
There are so many fun "firsts" with Allison as a new member of the church. It was almost a literal sink-or-swim experience when we took her to the temple to do baptisms for the dead only a couple of days after she herself was baptized :-) Today we got to see and hear her speak for the first time in sacrament meeting. And just this past month, Allison received her patriarchal blessing.
We all worry for Allison. She's such a baby in the gospel, and we really want everything to be as wonderful as possible for her in the beginning. There will be enough trials of her faith throughout her lifetime (as it is for all of us), so we want things to be really great right now. I felt like we should have a Family Home Evening about patriarchal blessings before she received hers so that she would have some idea of what to expect, and so she would know how to approach the things that would be told her.
So two days before her appointment, we Kennedy core members got Ethan and Rebecca on FaceTime, and we sat down as a family to share our thoughts about patriarchal blessings in general, and if we wanted to, we shared thoughts and feelings about our own patriarchal blessings.
I went into this, not knowing exactly how it would turn out. There would things I was hoping that someone would cover (your individual tribe, coming forth on the morning of the first resurrection, not seeing it as a fortune telling experience), but I really had no idea where the Spirit would lead everyone. But you know, that's the beautiful thing about the Spirit--you never need to worry when He's involved.
While I can't remember exactly what everyone said, I wanted to record a few of the highlights that I do remember.
Patriarchal blessings can promise miracles. John has had his blessing for over 35 years now. When it was given, he was promised that through his faith, his father would return to activity in the church. John won't lie--over the past 35 years, there have been doubts about that ever happening. However, this past year, his father returned to activity in the church and has gone through the temple.
The words in patriarchal blessings may seem like they were written for a specific time in our lives, but as we age, we see that they are meant for other times as well. Ethan shared that his blessing told him that like Nephi of old, he was born of goodly parents. He was to listen to their counsel. As a teenager, he figured this blessing was for him as a child. We would help him with decisions about school, a mission and marriage. However, as Ethan has passed all those moments, he still seeks our counsel. In fact, Ethan calls one of us every day without fail to talk to us.
The Lord sees us differently than perhaps we see ourselves. Johannah's blessing tells her that she is a peacemaker in our family, and yet anyone who knows her (she said this, not me) knows that as a kid, she caused the most fights and problems among the siblings. However, as she has aged, she has taken on that role, perhaps with trying, or perhaps without trying that much. As now? Everyone loves Hannah. Everyone loves to talk to her. Everyone misses her. Everyone wants to have her around.
Also, Rebecca shared that like Solomon, she would have wisdom. It was funny hearing how Rebecca doesn't believe that she has wisdom like that and she wonders how she will ever have it. However, both John and I agreed when talking together afterwards, that Rebecca is probably the wisest person in our family. The way she can look at situations and know how to handle them is a marvel to my mind. In fact, when I'm not sure how to react to a situation, I frequently ask myself, "How would Rebecca do this?"
Those are just a few of the specifics that I remember from the evening. It was such a lovely "pause" in the business of life, sharing some of the beautiful things that Heavenly Father has told our Kennedy family members. However, I want to share something amazing that happened to me while we were talking.
All of our blessings carry the personality of the patriarch giving the blessing. Some have been given by scriptorians, and it shows. John and I received our blessings from a very simple, older man who was in the Ypsilanti Ward and who had known John for years. My blessing specifically has whole paragraphs that are just one run-on sentence, and sometimes I'm not sure what is meant because there is no punctuation or delineation of thoughts. The most difficult paragraph and the only one that I tend to skip says this:
And remember to have the programs of the Church in your room or in your apartment or wherever you are because it is important that you remember Home Evening time when you can sit down and get together with whomever you may and discuss the programs of the Church and whatever activity you want to. It will please your Father in Heaven and it will bring blessings to you.
I have never taken much thought about those two sentences. When I was in college (to which the patriarch was referring when he said room or apartment), I did my best to call up John and talk about the scriptures. After all, that year was when I first read the Book of Mormon cover to cover. And as a family, we've always had Family Home Evening. However, as I mentioned this section to the family kind of as a joke, Ethan was quick to point out that I've pretty much spent my life creating moments where are family can come together to feel the Spirit. Teaching seminary at home, Faminary, opening our home to the YSAs on Sunday in Bitburg, game nights for years in Bitburg, Halloween parties, New Years' parties, inviting people to see Glo baptized in the Susquehanna, inviting Mark's German friends to his baptism, arranging Christmas programs where the chapel is full of non-members, having our own Kennedy family Christmas firesides, creating Celebration of the Egg, singing around the piano, celebrating Mother's Day on the edge of a cliff in Northern Ireland....and in a funny twist of fate, having our family come together to prepare Allison to receive her own patriarchal blessing.
I do not kid you. It. Blew. My. Mind. I have never thought of those two sentences as meaning much of anything, but without even knowing it, my life has been spent living out those two simple sentences. Some of our most cherished family memories are because of my efforts to remember the programs of the church and to create meaningful activities. As John says, sometimes he thinks I'm crazy organizing these moments like I do, and yet he admits that afterwards, he always knows that it was something wonderful.
I tell my kids to reference their patriarchal blessings frequently. They are literally personal living scriptures. What a blessing!
There are so many fun "firsts" with Allison as a new member of the church. It was almost a literal sink-or-swim experience when we took her to the temple to do baptisms for the dead only a couple of days after she herself was baptized :-) Today we got to see and hear her speak for the first time in sacrament meeting. And just this past month, Allison received her patriarchal blessing.
We all worry for Allison. She's such a baby in the gospel, and we really want everything to be as wonderful as possible for her in the beginning. There will be enough trials of her faith throughout her lifetime (as it is for all of us), so we want things to be really great right now. I felt like we should have a Family Home Evening about patriarchal blessings before she received hers so that she would have some idea of what to expect, and so she would know how to approach the things that would be told her.
So two days before her appointment, we Kennedy core members got Ethan and Rebecca on FaceTime, and we sat down as a family to share our thoughts about patriarchal blessings in general, and if we wanted to, we shared thoughts and feelings about our own patriarchal blessings.
I went into this, not knowing exactly how it would turn out. There would things I was hoping that someone would cover (your individual tribe, coming forth on the morning of the first resurrection, not seeing it as a fortune telling experience), but I really had no idea where the Spirit would lead everyone. But you know, that's the beautiful thing about the Spirit--you never need to worry when He's involved.
Patriarchal blessings can promise miracles. John has had his blessing for over 35 years now. When it was given, he was promised that through his faith, his father would return to activity in the church. John won't lie--over the past 35 years, there have been doubts about that ever happening. However, this past year, his father returned to activity in the church and has gone through the temple.
The words in patriarchal blessings may seem like they were written for a specific time in our lives, but as we age, we see that they are meant for other times as well. Ethan shared that his blessing told him that like Nephi of old, he was born of goodly parents. He was to listen to their counsel. As a teenager, he figured this blessing was for him as a child. We would help him with decisions about school, a mission and marriage. However, as Ethan has passed all those moments, he still seeks our counsel. In fact, Ethan calls one of us every day without fail to talk to us.
The Lord sees us differently than perhaps we see ourselves. Johannah's blessing tells her that she is a peacemaker in our family, and yet anyone who knows her (she said this, not me) knows that as a kid, she caused the most fights and problems among the siblings. However, as she has aged, she has taken on that role, perhaps with trying, or perhaps without trying that much. As now? Everyone loves Hannah. Everyone loves to talk to her. Everyone misses her. Everyone wants to have her around.
Also, Rebecca shared that like Solomon, she would have wisdom. It was funny hearing how Rebecca doesn't believe that she has wisdom like that and she wonders how she will ever have it. However, both John and I agreed when talking together afterwards, that Rebecca is probably the wisest person in our family. The way she can look at situations and know how to handle them is a marvel to my mind. In fact, when I'm not sure how to react to a situation, I frequently ask myself, "How would Rebecca do this?"
Those are just a few of the specifics that I remember from the evening. It was such a lovely "pause" in the business of life, sharing some of the beautiful things that Heavenly Father has told our Kennedy family members. However, I want to share something amazing that happened to me while we were talking.
All of our blessings carry the personality of the patriarch giving the blessing. Some have been given by scriptorians, and it shows. John and I received our blessings from a very simple, older man who was in the Ypsilanti Ward and who had known John for years. My blessing specifically has whole paragraphs that are just one run-on sentence, and sometimes I'm not sure what is meant because there is no punctuation or delineation of thoughts. The most difficult paragraph and the only one that I tend to skip says this:
And remember to have the programs of the Church in your room or in your apartment or wherever you are because it is important that you remember Home Evening time when you can sit down and get together with whomever you may and discuss the programs of the Church and whatever activity you want to. It will please your Father in Heaven and it will bring blessings to you.
I have never taken much thought about those two sentences. When I was in college (to which the patriarch was referring when he said room or apartment), I did my best to call up John and talk about the scriptures. After all, that year was when I first read the Book of Mormon cover to cover. And as a family, we've always had Family Home Evening. However, as I mentioned this section to the family kind of as a joke, Ethan was quick to point out that I've pretty much spent my life creating moments where are family can come together to feel the Spirit. Teaching seminary at home, Faminary, opening our home to the YSAs on Sunday in Bitburg, game nights for years in Bitburg, Halloween parties, New Years' parties, inviting people to see Glo baptized in the Susquehanna, inviting Mark's German friends to his baptism, arranging Christmas programs where the chapel is full of non-members, having our own Kennedy family Christmas firesides, creating Celebration of the Egg, singing around the piano, celebrating Mother's Day on the edge of a cliff in Northern Ireland....and in a funny twist of fate, having our family come together to prepare Allison to receive her own patriarchal blessing.
I do not kid you. It. Blew. My. Mind. I have never thought of those two sentences as meaning much of anything, but without even knowing it, my life has been spent living out those two simple sentences. Some of our most cherished family memories are because of my efforts to remember the programs of the church and to create meaningful activities. As John says, sometimes he thinks I'm crazy organizing these moments like I do, and yet he admits that afterwards, he always knows that it was something wonderful.
I tell my kids to reference their patriarchal blessings frequently. They are literally personal living scriptures. What a blessing!
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