"Brother Turner?"
"Yes," I said.
"This is Janay Slaugh."
"Hi. How are you?" I asked.
"Oh...not so well. I'm sick and Ryan is out of town and I was wondering if you could come give me a blessing."

Thus began one of those life lessons that Heavenly Father throws our way to remind us of what's inportant. In my case, he doesn't throw the lessons; he practically smashes them over my head.

I home teach the Slaugh family with Eric as my companion. I'm ashamed to say that we don't see our families every month. Busy schedules are part of the problem, but mostly it's just a lack of priority. Sadly, I take solace in the fact that our own home teachers visit us about 2-3 times a year. It's a prevalent problem in the elders quorum in our ward. Every time Eric and I visit the Slaughs, we apologize profusely for our intermittent visit schedule. They are always very forgiving. And the deal I (and probably the others in our ward) make with ourselves is that even though we don't keep all of our monthly appointments, we would drop anything at a moment's notice if we're ever needed.

So when the phone rang tonight, it wasn't an inconvenience to put on my shoes and coat and brave the cold January night to go give a blessing. It was an honor--an honor to exercise the holy priesthood of God, to act in behalf of the Lord. Sister Slaugh called me because she was in need. Her husband Ryan is in Hong Kong this week on business. She is left at home with 3 small children including a new baby.

I called Rob Schunk to see if he could go over with me and give the blessing. He said he'd meet me there. As I fired up the truck and let the engine warm for a moment, I felt prompted to offer a prayer. The words that came out of my mouth surprised me.

Heavenly Father,
Please bless me that I might be worthy to exercise thy priesthood. Forgive me for my many sins. Please bless me that I might be an instrument in thy hands to be able to bring comfort to Sister Slaugh. Heavenly Father, please do not withhold thy blessings for Sister Slaugh because of my shortcomings and sins. Please help her faith give me guidance and strength to perform this blessing.

At the conclusion of my prayer, I felt a rush of the Spirit fill me and I knew that my prayer had been heard and I knew that it would be answered. I also gained some clarity and some focus on one aspect of the gospel.

Priesthood holders don't hold the priesthood for themselves--we hold it for others, for those we love. Sister Slaugh felt like she had no where else to turn, so she reached out to me for help. I can't imagine how I would feel if a family member or ward member called on me in faith and I wasn't worthy enough to perform the blessing. Long ago, I got into the habit of praying before giving a blessing. I always ask forgiveness for my sins and pray in behalf of whomever I'm giving the blessing to.

Anyway, I guess it's something I've always known, but it's good to be reminded from time to time.