She Spake of Him to All Them

A few days ago I talked on the phone with a good family friend of ours, Sister Parry.  She is a widow of 80 and lives alone in a different state.  She lost her husband about ten years ago, and has gone essentially blind since then.  She is a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has been a mentor and great friend to my wife and me.  She passes her time listening to books, talking on the phone to family and friends, listening to BYUtv, talking with visitors, and praying.  She told me that she had given away all of her Book of Mormon copies just recently.  There are people who bring in Meals on Wheels during the week and she has given several of them a Book of Mormon as she has gotten to know them.  She is cheerful and always a joy to be around, but she desperately wants to be with her husband again.  She told me that after giving away her last book she prayed to God to know if she could now return home since she had given them all away.  I was pained as she told me, “But the answer was ‘No.’”  We are certainly glad that she is still here with us, and I know she does more good from her chair than I do in all of my comings and goings among others.  She has an enormous love for others and is a powerful example of bringing about great things by small and simple things.        

                 As I think about Sister Parry and her powerful example to me and others, she reminds me of Anna who awaited patiently the birth of the Messiah.  She was a widow and about 84 years old, and she “departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.”  She didn’t serve God through dramatic service but rather through patient prayer and fasting.  We often think that we must do something significant to really serve, but she showed devotion in simple daily prayer and worship.    Luke recorded that “she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem” (Luke 2:36-38).  This faithful woman may not have been able to do great things in the eyes of the world, but her service was immeasurable because she preached the gospel, speaking of the Savior to all those who would listen.  Like Sister Parry she was a powerful missionary for Christ, unafraid to open her mouth to declare the Savior to others.  Surely the Lord could have said to her, and would say of our friend today, as He did to Nephi of old: “Thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments” (Helaman 10:4).  One day several years ago Sister Parry called us after we had told her of a certain decision we had made regarding one of our children.  She told us that the Holy Spirit had been working on her all night long and she had to call and tell us that we should reconsider that decision we had made.  It was a very powerful sign to us, and we did reconsider in prayer and changed our decision.  That has made a big difference in our lives and I believe we are yet to fully see the reasons for it.  I know the Lord worked through her because He knew He could trust her to deliver the message we apparently couldn’t hear on our own.  She did not fear to do that which the Lord inspired her to do, and I hope someday to be the kind of faithful disciple she is.