A New Year
January 1, 2018
A new year is upon us. What will it bring?
These have been my thoughts this week. Over and over again. To be straight up honest, I was feeling quite smug, proud of myself that I got through Christmas without the sickening feeling that homesickness can bring me. It wasn't until the day after. I was putting my three Christmas decorations away in the closet. It was late afternoon and dark outside. It hit me like a ton of bricks.
"You will be pulling these same three decorations out of this drawer next December......and it will be dark then, just like it is now".
This dark, dreary land has become a weight on me. I am looking at it as a challenge. How can I conquer it? What strategies do these English people use when they don't see the sun for weeks on end? Exercise? Eat? Sleep? Shop? Explore? Just to let you know, I'm trying all of it. When I lose it, my Mikie
is so kind to me. He knows what I need and I know what I need. I need the sun. And when my head is on straight, I know I will see it again. One little trick I have found is to open the window. We have birds living in the beautiful bare trees outside our flat. They chortle and peep most the day. I just absolutely love them. We have taken to putting bread crumbs on our ledge and wait for them to fly over for a bite. They are my friends in England.
The London Temple Visitors Center closed its doors for good on December 29. It is a sad day for patrons who bring their families with them when they come to do temple work. The missionary department from Salt Lake has determined that the center has not had enough traffic to warrant keeping it open. We will miss it. We have attended presentations and concerts there on a weekly basis since we arrived. We will miss our friends who have manned the center. The two couples from America that were serving there have been reassigned. Our two young sisters will go out to fulltime proselyting. My Mikie and I and our friend, Sister Long, took the last temple grounds walk available with the young sisters this past week. We have loved these beautiful 29 acres of grounds surrounding the temple and now, we have a better vision of the landscaping, plants, trees, etc. Even if it's the dead of winter and the sun was not shining. It is still such a quiet, beautiful, peaceful spot. Rain or Shine.
So....as I look back on 2017, I ponder my personal growth. Did I make a difference anywhere along the way? I think of my dearest companion. Did we live up to the Lord's expectations of us? I think of our dear, dear girls, their spouses, and our most precious grandchildren. We have five grandsons now holding the priesthood - Ethan, Kyson, Noah, Zane, and now, Cash. Do they understand the magnificence of that? Probably not, but hopefully, with time, it will matter. We watch from a long distance as all our 22 grandkids grow up into their own person. Oh, we are proud of them!
We feel humbled that we have such a precious family. We will expect lots of growth from all of them over there in sunny AZ. in 2018. We will continue to do our small part from this end. Come rain or shine. But seriously, go get a sunburn and think of me. That sounds wonderful.
My Love,
Mom, Grandma, and/or Sister Seaman
The London Temple
I may have mentioned this before, but I have wondered why, on earth, the London Temple site is where it is. It is an hour's drive from London. It is in a remote, rural area, made up of farms and tiny villages scattered around, that has not changed in centuries. The people who visit this temple usually drive by car, bus, taxi or train to this site and arrive after a several hour trip. The buses don't actually stop here anymore and the train station is about 5 miles from here. So why here in Newcastle?
I didn't know this, but the English people were encouraged to emigrate to the USA, particularly to the Salt Lake area, until the outbreak of the war in 1939. One of the major factors was that the saving ordinances of the temple were not available in England. In 1945, then counselor in the First Presidency, David O McKay instructed the members to stay in England. In 1952, President McKay announced that the church was searching for property in England for a temple. The spot chosen by President McKay was a beautiful 29 acre site, which had a large lily pond at the exact site of the temple building. The architects tried to discourage the President McKay from building on this site, but he insisted. It was later discovered that underneath the lily pond, at the depth of the foundation of the temple, was a natural shale platform. The project engineer reportedly said, "You could build the city of London on that site."
The lesson here, at least to me, is that this is where the Lord wanted his temple in London built, for whatever reason. It is a most beautiful spot.
After reading Kim's message above, I thought I might add a thought or two.
Last night, as I was just going to bed, sitting on the couch thinking, a thought came to me out of nowhere. I remembered several occasions when I was a young boy, as my family was leaving my Grandpa John L Davis' home, to return to our home, he would stand out by the gate of his front yard and wave good-bye to us and cry. I have thought about that through the years and wondered why he cried. He knew we just lived a couple of hours away. And we came to see him and Grandma on a regular basis.
I might have realized it all along, but last night it came to me that he cried because he loved us. And I mean really loved us.
I think what Kim is experiencing lately is all about love. I know that she dearly loves her children and grandchildren. She misses them. I can see her standing at the gate waving goodbye to them and crying knowing full-well that she will see them again in the not to distant future.
I am profoundly thankful for that kind of love. It has made such a difference in my life and will in yours.
Sincerely,
Elder Seaman
