Their willingness to give

 

 

An Answer to Prayer

By Emily Freeman

 “…and behold, thou wilt remember the poor,
and consecrate of thy properties for their support
that which thou hast to imparted unto them…
and inasmuch as ye impart of your substance unto the poor,
ye will do it unto me…”

D&C 42:30-31

It was almost twenty months ago that Greg picked him up off the sidewalk with all of his belongings.

A 19-year-old kid whose past included trouble with the law…time spent in jail.

He had nowhere to live.

So Greg brought him home.

This twenty months has been the road to Damascus for us.  It’s not often you get to watch a second chance unfold.  He has learned from Paul.  I, from Ananias.

He’s worn this bracelet for almost a year now.  A reminder of who he wanted to become.

Tonight he put on a new suit and went to the Church to be set apart as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

After the blessing he walked over to his younger brother, took off the bracelet and put it on the younger boy’s wrist.  ”I don’t need this,” he said, “I’m not a future missionary anymore.”

I looked at him closely.

He had become who he wanted to become.

A missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

This boy does not have a lot of money, but his desire to serve was like a badge right over his heart.

I told him if he saved all he could and paid his tithing faithfully the Lord would provide a way for him to serve.

In the past few months I have come to see the blessings that come from those who live the law of consecration.

Maybe I could share just a few examples.

Someone bought him a suit.

Another family bought his shirts, socks, shoes, and ties.

There was money for a coat.

Piece by piece it all came together.

Except for the bike.

This boy is big…really big.  6’4 and 270 pounds.  It’s really hard to find a bike that big.  We searched the classifieds.  We drove to pawn shops.

And we prayed.

The bike had to be purchased and sent to the mission home by April 1.

We set our deadline for the Saturday before.

When, after searching the Internet for days to no avail and still not finding a bike the right size, I asked Greg if maybe he should go look at a bike shop to get an idea of the make and style of the bike we needed.  Then we would know exactly what we were searching for.  So Greg and this boy drove over to the bike shop.

They found the right bike.

It was way out of the price range.

Saturday morning came.  Our plan was to spend the entire afternoon searching for a bike.

It was 1:00pm when the phone call came from the bike shop.

“Someone purchased a bike for someone who lives at this phone number.  They want to remain anonymous.”  My husband listened as the bike shop manager described the bike.

It was the bike they had looked at the day before.

An answer to prayer.

Through the law of consecration.

Yesterday morning this boy spent hours writing thank you notes.  One for every family who has helped him to prepare for his mission.

My favorite was this one…

My heart swelled in gratitude for that family and their willingness to give.

I want to be more like that.