I was folding laundry the other day and turned on BYU TV. I viewed a talk by Elder and Sister Holland from the 2007 BYU Women’s Conference and was inspired by a story Sister Holland shared. It helped me to realized that all the little things I do matter and make a difference. Thought I’d share with you…
“My great-grandmother on my mother’s side of the family came
from the Bern-Interlaken area of Switzerland. You may have visited there, or at least seen the travel posters! Surely it is among the most beautiful locations on the face of the
earth—green and majestic nature at its loveliest.
After joining the Church and emigrating to join the Saints moving west, those greatgrandparents
were called to settle the little community of Enterprise in southern Utah.
Perhaps you have been to Enterprise, too, but I
know you have not seen any travel posters
of it!
I do love the community of my birth and childhood memories, but it is not
Switzerland! It was hot in the summer and cold in the winter, the wind blew constantly,
and it was barren! What a test of faith it must have been for these Swiss ancestors to be
called to such an area so totally opposite to that green land of lakes and alpine beauty
they had left behind.
My great-grandmother decided she would do something about it. With her two hands and
a shovel, she harvested some small pine tree seedlings from the mountains not far away
and planted them around the small church building that had just been erected.
Then everyday she would carry two buckets of water from her home nearly three blocks away, one
bucket in each hand, to water those trees and keep them growing. It was arduous work for
a little woman bent over with osteoporosis, but she made every drop count in a daily
ritual that over time gave each tree a regular, if meager, drink of moisture.
Elder Holland:
In this exercise Pat’s great-grandmother often took her little 10-year-old
granddaughter with her, telling stories and reminiscing about her life in Switzerland as
she carried her two precious buckets of water. One day one of the brethren of the
community stopped her and said, with something of a dismissive tone, “Oh, Sister
Barlocker, why do you make this useless journey each day to water those scrubby little
pine trees? They will never survive in this harsh climate and difficult soil, and even if
they did, they will never grow to any size in your lifetime. Why don’t you just give up
and forget your high Swiss hopes in this matter?”
Well, little Sister Barlocker rose to the full 4 feet 8 inches of her stature, looked this good
brother in the eye and said, “I know these trees will not grow very large in my lifetime.
But if I stay with it, they
will live and they will grow. And although I will not enjoy their
beauty and their shade, this little girl will. I am doing this for her.”
Sister Holland:
That 10-year-old grandchild was my mother. And my mother with all of
her siblings, and cousins, and everyone else in Enterprise did live to see those trees reach
an impressive height and to give off lovely, much needed shade from the desert sun.
Then I grew up enjoying those trees, playing under their branches, and seeing them frame the
church which I attended as a young woman. And now I have lived to see not only my
children but also my grandchildren play, have picnics, laugh, and hold 24th of July relay
races all through and in and around those beautiful trees, which now literally tower over
the community—and over the pioneer heritage—of little windblown, once-barren
Enterprise, Utah.”
Doesn’t this story just inspire you to want to “keep carrying your water buckets??”
Isn’t it a great reminder that every effort counts?
Isn’t Sister Barlocker a fine example of setting our minds to something that is important to us and then not letting anyone or anything stop us – no matter how simple or silly others might think our idea is? We know what can be accomplished. We see the vision of what can become of our efforts!
There is greatness inside us – it blooms, blossoms and grows – by small and simple things. With each drop of believing, faith-filled water.
Donna- I got this off Hilary Week’s blog and wanted to share with you. How inspiring to think of the influence we can leave behind to our children and grandchildren!
