10 year anniversary
I just got off the phone with an old family friend from back home. Her name is Sheryl, and today was the 10 year anniversary of her baptism in our ward. When she talked with my mom, she was so excited about that fact that my mom sent me an email suggesting that I giver her a surprise and call her. After talking with her, I’m glad I did.
Sheryl has had a very rough life. I don’t know all the details (and I don’t really want to), but I know that she has a very controlling and manipulative mother and, if I remember correctly, an abusive father. It didn’t help that she’s mentally retarded in some ways–not completely, but she doesn’t have the capacity to be fully independent without some support. Fortunately, her sisters have taken very good care of her.
She was baptized the year of the Boston Temple open house, and I remember talking with her on the way up and back. She was very negative and pessimistic, about life in general as well as her specific trials and hardships. No matter what we talked about, the conversation eventually became about one of her many physical illnesses, or about the bad situation with her mother, or about how her family didn’t want her to join the church and she was worried about that, etc.
As a new convert, she required a lot of care and attention, and my father and I were called to home teach her. She didn’t have a way to get herself to church, so most of the time we gave her a ride. Every Sunday, she would be complaining about one thing or another. However, she was a good person, once you got past all the negativity. Pop and I did our best to smile, nod, and be her friend.
Over time, she started changing. The church reached out to her, and she was touched by the support. In addition, she had the missionaries over as often as she could, and kept in close touch with the missionary who baptized her (they developed a very special relationship–to this day, she always talks about him).
I remember the year before I left on my mission, she gave a testimony that was amazingly powerful. It wasn’t particularly eloquent, but it was 100% genuine and sincere. In it, she told the story of her conversion and how it’s changed her since. None of the tears were faked–Sheryl never was one to let you know anything other than what was on her mind (those of you who know her are smiling right now, I can tell 
)
When I came back, she was almost a completely different person. She still had her health problems and bouts with depression, but she didn’t complain hardly at all. Instead of talking about her family problems, she would talk about her church friends and how much she loved the ward. She was still having the missionaries over regularly, and there was a very different spirit in her apartment.
Then I went out to college, and I hardly saw her–only briefly for Christmas or summer break, for the few weeks I was home during the summer. Even then, I could tell that she was still changing. It was not difficult to tell that the church had changed everything in her life, not only bringing a new spirit, but in general quality of life ways as well. Even though my father was no longer her home teacher, she still kept in close contact with my family, and became one of my mother’s close friends.
When I talked with her now, I was utterly surprised to see how much she’d changed. The first thing she did was ask how I was doing. When I told her I’m graduating soon and talked about how I’m uncertain about what’s going to come next, she told me she’s confident that Heavenly Father will be with me, “because that’s what he’s there for.” She asked about my sisters, about Kate and Danny, how they’re doing, about how good of a person Danny is, etc.
When I asked her how she was doing, she said she was doing well–that she hasn’t been sick all year. She also talked about the ward, how much it’s grown, how much she loves it–I think the only negative thing she said was that she doesn’t like to sit in the overflow because the chairs are hard, so she has to come early instead!
Looking at her, I have to say it’s amazing how much the gospel changes people. I remember a time when part of me dreaded talking with her (don’t tell her I said that!), just because she would always be so negative. It took work to be her friend. But now, after that conversation we just had, I honestly feel refreshed and energized. She is a good person, and the gospel has brought out the absolute best in her and helped her to flourish.
The scriptures say that we can have faith because every good thing comes from God. I know that that is true. Through His sacrifice and atonement, Jesus Christ can change our lives and turn us around. We only need to trust in Him and become His disciples. If we do what we can, giving Him our all, He does what we cannot–He changes us in ways that we cannot change ourselves. This is my testimony, and I offer it to you in the name of my Savior, who is Jesus Christ. Amen.
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