Happy Sunday!  Today I’m going to blog, brag and blab about a very sweet friend and neighbor of mine.  This person truly knows the meaning of friendship, service, thoughtfulness and a zillion other wonderful attributes!   When my hubby was in the hospital, she went {way} beyond the expected.  She thought of everything we could possible need…even before we knew we needed them!   She gave us a gift bag FULL of items to make that hard time seem so much easier.   One item was a beautiful book with short stories.  We had browsed through the book in the hospital and I personally LOVED the photography!  Then, when hubby was released from the hospital, we packed up all the paraphernalia to come home, and the beautiful book got stashed in a miscellaneous bag and very sadly, kind of forgotten (for a while).  Fast forward to five or six weeks later when this very kind friend asked how I liked the book, when we passed it in the store.   I didn’t recognize the cover…I didn’t realize this was the same book that was stashed away.  I was very embarrassed that it most definitely seemed like I didn’t appreciate her gift!  I came home and pulled out the book (I knew exactly which bag it was still in)…and started browsing again.  I read a few more of the stories…I fell in love (again) with the beautiful photography…but most of all, I remembered the sweet memory of the love and kindness that was shown by our dear friend in those difficult days after hubby’s accident.

Here’s one of the stories told by Elder David B Haight:

A few years ago, when Arturo Toscanini was musical director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in New York City, he had a Saturday afternoon radio broadcast. And one day he received in his mail a crumpled little note on some brownish paper which read:

“Dear Mr. Toscanini, I am a lonely sheepherder in the mountains of Wyoming. I have two prized possessions: an old violin and a battery radio. And the batteries are getting weak and beginning to run down on my radio, and my violin is so out of tune I can’t play it anymore. Would you please sound an A next Saturday on your program?”

The next week on the program, Arturo Toscanini announced: “To a newfound friend in the mountains of Wyoming, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra is now, all together and in unison, going to sound a perfect A.” And they sounded the perfect A. Then that lonely little man was able to tune the A string and then the E string and the D and the G from that perfect A.

Isn’t it interesting to reflect in our own lives and in the lives of the many people who may hear me at this time—those whose violin or lives may be a little out of tune—that we are able to come to a general conference of the Church and hear the marvelous messages that are spoken? Those of us who have the opportunity to speak here pray mightily that we would have the energy and the strength and the vitality even as I do, as I enter the twilight of my life, to stand and bear witness of the truthfulness of this work—because I am a witness of it.

Here are a couple more photos of my cherished book.  Thank you Dear Darci!!!

Have a great Sabbath!  Do or learn something NEW!