We have several house projects to do. One of those is getting trees pruned. There is one tree in our backyard in particular that has been on our minds since we moved into our home five years ago. The first summer it barely had any leaves on it. The following summer it didn’t seem much better. In 2014, we decided to have it looked at by a professional to help us determine what to do. The man let us know that many Ash trees in the area have a bug in them. He said it would be best to remove the tree, he didn’t think it was healthy enough to survive. He left and we considered what he said. Ultimately, we decided to wait another year. To our amazement, later that summer the tree started to look like it was getting new growth. We decided to give it more time. We kept watering it and waited to see what it would do. Over the next two years it kept growing and pushing out even more leaves. Although there were a lot of dead branches in the tree it was still growing. It became so big that it needed to be pruned. We had the dead branches removed and had it shaped to help it continue to grow right. It is now a beautiful tree and one of my favorite trees in our yard.
I think how this tree can relate to us. We get planted here. We start off doing well in life. Eventually something will come in our path to make things difficult for us. We might be under ‘watered’ as our tree was for years. Without constant spiritual nourishment we are in danger of losing our testimonies. We stop growing and become weak and fragile. Some people may say we are too damaged and give up on us. Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will never give up on anyone. They are near and desire to help us grow to be our best. We too must not give up on ourselves. When we remove the negative in our lives and fight through our difficulties we can become better, if we stay close to them and let them help us along our path.
Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever! – Jeffery R. Holland
Birthdays
1 Amanda Hall
1 Lisa Lara
5 Brandy Elliott
7 Tyfani Krings
12 Mary Lou Mooring
16 Audrey Farnsworth
20 Apollo Garcia
21 Joree Hoycott
25 Victoria Peters
29 Leslie Nelson
31 Michele Azar
Lesson Schedule – (Gordon B Hinkley)
July 2 Presidency message Jan Welling
July 9 #12 “Obedience: Simply Live the Gospel”
July 16 #13 “Peace and Contentment through Temporal Self-Reliance”
July 23 “Our Good Shepherd” by Elder Renlund AND “The Beauty of Holiness” by Sister McConkie
July 30 Bishop’s Instruction
Upcoming Events
July 3-25 Temple closed
July 21 Ward Lake Party
Other Opportunities
July 20 Book Group 7 pm
July 18 Lunch Bunch at 11:30 at Popeyes
August 3 Ladies Night out time TBD
Saturdays 8 am basketball Stake Center
Mon & Wed 9 am Aerobics
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