To the Souls of All

I sat in the back of the chapel for most of the 7 year + 10 month period when my husband couldn’t sit with me due to callings (but who’s counting?)

I’d walk in late to sacrament meeting each week with my church bag, diaper bag, baby carrier, toddler on my hip, other kids behind me (who may or may not have their hair combed), spit up on my dress, and fake smile on my face hiding the fact that I yelled at the kids on the way there. 

I mean, where was home church THEN? 😉

Luckily I had my people in the back.

Back People= My People!

Back people are the latecomers who missed out on the cushy seats. But I liked the back cause it meant less people observing my ninja-like moves as I tried to control the kids. The back allowed for more comfort in my chaos!  What happens in the back stays in the back! (mostly!) Back people watch out for each other & catch escaping children! Back people are just glad to be there AT ALL. We’re like, HEY, we are HERE. WE MADE IT. 

And it’s okay, because the sacrament still got passed to us every week.

Those sacred emblems are blessed & sanctified “to the souls of all those who partake of it” (Mor. 4:3)

To ALL those who partake.

Front people AND back people.

Sometimes in life, you might feel like you’re sitting in the back. Disheveled. Exhausted. Barely holding it together! Trying to hear over the noise & distraction. Feeling far away. Feeling like you don’t belong in the front, like you’ll never belong in the front. 

But you’re there.

Maybe you were late, maybe not as prepared as you could have been, but YOU ARE THERE.

You get to WITNESS unto Him your worthy & willing heart. You get to renew every covenant you’ve made. You get to REMEMBER. You get to KEEP TRYING.

And He gets to bless you with the promise of His Spirit! That is everything!

It doesn’t matter where you sit. Even if you are on the very edge in the very back row. In church, at home, or in life. Your soul deserves to be sanctified. 

“I testify that in this and every hour He is, with nail-scarred hands, extending to us that same grace, holding on to us and encouraging us, refusing to let go until we are safely home in the embrace of Heavenly Parents.” -Holland