Turning Outward--A Month of Service

A few weeks ago we had a multi-stake conference for all the married student stakes and singles student stakes in the Provo area.  The first speaker at this conference was one of the stake presidents of a married student stake.  I can't remember his name, but I remember the message he shared.

His son, who was in his twenties, passed away around Thanksgiving last year....which means his son passed away within a week or so of when Tace passed away.  He talked about the pain and emptiness he felt and the struggles that he went through as he tried to cope with the loss of his son.  He talked about how all he wanted to do was turn inward....he wanted time to himself to go through the mourning process.  However, as a stake president, he had many responsibilities to attend to.  In the first 2 weeks after his son passed away, there were some major crises with members within his stake that he had to help take care of.  He again talked about how difficult it was to reach out and fulfill those responsibilities when he was barely functioning himself.  But, he realized as he reached outward to help others through their trials, he somehow was making it through his own trial.  He then emphasized that there will be times when we will all want to turn inward....but, it is at these times that we should do all we can to turn outward and help someone else in need.  If we focus on helping and serving others, we will receive the strength we need to get through our own trials.

I really liked this message.  So, we decided to start a new Christmas tradition.  This time of year is a time that would be really easy for Brian and I to turn inward.  Tace's birthday brings back memories and a heartache that can be overwhelming.  But, rather than turning inward and focusing on our loss, we want to turn outward in remembrance of our little Tace.  So, the tradition we are starting is "A Month of Service".  This will start every year on Tace's birthday, November 24th, and end on Christmas Eve, December 24th.  We made a stocking for Tace and each year we want his stocking to be filled with acts of service!   (We're getting started a little late this year.)

We would love to have as many friends and family members participate with us each year as possible.  (What better way is there to bring in the true spirit of Christmas than by serving others as our Savior would?!)  Each year I will use this blog, email, facebook, text, etc, to gather feedback on the acts of service.  These acts of service can be as simple as making a sibling's bed or as large as providing Christmas for a family in need.

For each act of service completed, please send me an email (heather.hales89@gmail.com), a text, a facebook message/post, or a post on this blog letting me know what the act of service was.  I will print them off once a week and fill Tace's stocking with them.  We hope to have a whole stocking full of service to go through on Christmas Day!  Thanks in advance to anyone who participates in this tradition with us.