Most Thoughtful Gift EVER

My Friday night and Saturday were something else.  

We had the annual "Spaghetti Nightmare" fundraiser at my church, and I was on my tired pregnant feet for approximately 9 hours, boiling 28 pounds of spaghetti.  I was exhausted.  And glad it was over, looking forward to not having to worry about the stress of it all for the next year.

As we were wrapping things up and nearly ready to go home, the First Counselor of our Bishopric approached me and told me he needed to come over to our home to speak with us about something important.  UGH.  Every Mormon out there knows what that means.  A new church calling.  My first thought was "Seriously???  NOW?  Tonight?  Right after I just nearly killed myself making all this food?"  I could tell by the look on his face that whatever it was wasn't any good because he wasn't making eye contact with me.  So just to be sure, I asked him...

"You are going to totally ruin my day tomorrow, aren't you?"

To which he replied...

"Yes, I'm afraid I am."

Awesome.   

And then after it really and truly sunk in, I became more than a little stressed out and upset.  I was wondering whose bright idea it was to give me a new calling just a couple of months before I was about to have a baby.  I was having a hard time convincing myself that Heavenly Father would think that was a good idea.  I was concerned about whatever new calling it would be, thinking that if it were a "single-handed" calling (like Scouts, or Primary Teacher, etc.) that it was going to be more than I could handle with a new baby.  The women I currently serve with are my family, and I mean that earnestly because I really don't have any other support network outside of church because of my own family situation.  I love my calling as the First Counselor in Young Women, and I know that eventually I am going to move on and get a new calling, but I was really not ready.  

So I went home and prayed, and prayed.  And discussed it with Joe.  And I even cried, because it was honestly just more than I could handle right now.  I love the Sister's that I serve with, and I enjoy the support network we share together.  I wasn't looking forward to leaving them or that network right before I was about to have another baby.

Needless to say, I barely slept that night.  And I woke up feeling upset and miserable.  I had decided that if it were indeed a "single-handed" calling that I was going to decline it.  That in itself made me even more upset.  So I trudged about my day and waited for 3 PM to come around when he was coming over.  

He showed up, and I noticed he had his wife with him.  That puzzled me... He shouldn't have his wife with him on official church business like this.  And as soon as we opened the door, he had a huge grin on his face, and announced that this visit was not official church business.  I'm thoroughly confused at this point.  He must have been able to tell by the look on my face, and he tried to explain himself.  He said he didn't want me to "be suspicious" about his visit, so he "had to trick me".  WHAT???  YOU HAD TO TRICK ME?  

And then he handed me a box wrapped in baby wrapping paper.  A gift for us, he said...  

I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes, and I was tired both physically and mentally.  So I wasn't really prepared for what was inside, and it completely caught me by surprise.  And I immediately burst into tears.  Tears of gratitude, tears of thanks, and tears of love.

Brother Robert Collier makes quilts.  He makes them for all of his grandkids, and he has a LOT of grandkids.  He is incredibly talented, and I've seen many of his pieces and they are absolutely beautiful.  I've also looked at them with melancholy, because of my family situation.  And Brother Collier's timing was perfect.  I had just found out a few hours earlier that my Mother had passed away, and I was feeling extremely low.  Her passing was another sharp reminder of my family situation.  

And what perfect timing.  And what a wonderful gift.  He had so many sweet words for us, and was so kind.  He made sure to tell us that this wasn't something he had done for anyone outside his family before.

 He made our new baby boy the most perfect quilt ever.

He showed me this paper, and explained that this was the pattern he used for our babies quilt because it reminded him of our family.  

He said...

"Do you get it???  Black (pointed to Joe), White (pointed to me), and FUN ALL OVER!!" and he started laughing.

I got a really really good laugh out of that too, it was super funny.  I suppose that does describe us in a nutshell.

I still don't know why he felt he had to trick me, and I didn't ask.  I was just glad in my heart that it was indeed a trick and not what I had feared. 

My heart is full.  And I am thankful for Robert and Linda Collier.  While they clearly could tell by my reaction how touched I was, they will never truly know how much much I needed it at that particular moment.  Their timing was perfect, and I will be eternally grateful for them.   And I am grateful for my Heavenly Father, who takes care of me in the strangest ways and knows exactly what I need, when I need it and picks the perfect way to show it.