Blessings Galore

I realize as I write this week that I am being blessed in so many ways by a loving Heavenly Father.

I had the privilege of singing a solo in sacrament meeting today. The bishop asked that I sing "I Heard Him Come". I thoroughly enjoyed the experience; it is a beautiful song and I had a wonderful accompanist. Many people stroked my ego by telling me afterwards that they loved it. One lady asked me if I had sung in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I chuckled inside a bit. She then said, it was so sweet, you made me cry. I am blessed to have grown up in a family who loved music and where music was present most of the time. Most of my favorite memories are associated with music growing up.

The leaves are starting to change here and that is a blessing. I love fall with the variety of colors and that is a mouthful since I am colorblind. I see the different shades just not all of the brilliant colors that most of you see. I love the fall, but know that it is followed by winter, which is crazy cold here.

I am blessed to have parents who taught me some common sense and some practical life skills. I was reminded of that as I spoke to an Elder who said they had a flat tire and needed to know what to do. As usual, I told him to put the spare on and take it into the shop. When the shop called and said that the tire had to be replaced because it was ripped on the side, I then asked the Elders what they hit hard enough to destroy that tire. The reply was, Elder ____ wasn't paying attention and hit a curb going 40. The tire he destroyed only had 8,000 miles on it. Or there were the Sisters who called saying they noticed their tire was flat. They were at the gas station and said they had tried to put air in it but it just went flat again. What should we do Elder Taggart? Put the spare tire on and drive it to Pep Boys. They will fix it or let me know it needs to be replaced. Elder Taggart, where is the spare tire? When I told them, they said, "Ouch, our trunk is really full so we will have to take everything out of it to find their spare. Once they got to the spare, they were blessed that a nice man stopped and put it on for them.

We went to JC Penny's this week because Claudia had a birthday gift card that was burning a hole in her purse, haha. When we checked out, the cashier saw our name tags and asked who we work for. We told her we are missionaries for the Church. She said, I am not a religious person, but I know I should be. As we talked, I told her that even though she didn't go to Church, God still knew her name and loves her as his daughter. She smiled. Having the badge on does cause people to ask you questions which often lead to conversation.  I am blessed to wear the badge and to get to meet many good people here in Chicago.

I am blessed to be alive and well, able to enjoy life with the woman I love. This week marks 19 years since the second heart attack where the doctor told Claudia that I only had 6 months to live. I am soooooo blessed to have enjoyed much of life in those 19 years.

Look for an opportunity to say hello to those you meet wherever you are. As you do, opportunities to help to know God will present themselves. We love you. Have a great week.

Elder Taggart