Walking with the Savior - Testimonies of Jesus Christ in Christian Lives

Finding Comfort in the Midst of Great Heartache: Whitney Hemsath Powerful testimony of Jesus Christ

• John Kirkman • Season 1 • Episode 47

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Whitney Owens Hemsath (Watch on YouTube) shares of finding comfort in Christ amidst life's struggles. Whitney shares a poignant personal story from her college days, where she felt lost and directionless until she received spiritual guidance. She discusses the heartbreak and sorrow she endured when her best friend and boyfriend, Dustin, began dating someone else, and how she found solace through hymns and a deeper connection with Christ. Eventually, Dustin realized he loved her, and they became engaged while Whitney was on her mission. The episode delves into themes of grief, comfort, and finding Jesus in every aspect of life, using Christmas symbols to draw parallels to Christ's love and sacrifice. The conversation aims to inspire listeners to seek and recognize Christ's presence and comfort, even in difficult times.
Whitney's Book: https://amzn.to/4gNyZLa
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00:00 Introduction and Christmas Greetings
00:20 Whitney's Story: Finding Comfort in Faith
03:28 The Power of Christ's Comfort
07:46 Christ has Empathy in Our Grief
14:24 Whitney's Book: Finding Christ in Daily Life
19:18 Connecting Snow as a Symbol for Christ
23:56 Symbolism of Christmas Trees as it Relates to Christ
29:59 Encouragement and Farewell

​Welcome everybody to this week's episode of walking with the Savior podcast, where we talk of Christ, we preach of Christ, and we podcast about Christ. This week is Christmas week 2024 and I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas, and today I brought on Whitney Armstrong.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Whitney, when and where have you felt the savior reaching out to comfort you? I feel like in these days of turmoil and struggle, it's, we just need comfort.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

Absolutely. Um, there have been so many times. One that comes to mind as a very core memory. I was to graduate college and I didn't know what was going to be coming next. I was dating my best friend and I was prepared to marry him if he asked. But he hadn't asked and I didn't know what I should be doing next. I could go serve a proselyting mission, for my church for 18 months, teaching people about Jesus. And, I could move up to Hollywood and put my new screenwriting degree to use. I could save money and move home with my parents, right? There were so many options. And, When I finally got an answer from God, it came through my then boyfriend, his name was Dustin, and he felt like I was supposed to go on a mission and the minute he said it, I knew,

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Mm.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

excited. We had a quick talk where we agreed, like, we're just going to stay friends. There's no guarantees of anything.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Mm

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

just see what happens and you know, I'll write you and I'll support you and you know, we're going to be friends. And

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

First of all, let me ask you, did that, did that just have aing that that's, that conversation sounds a little too close to home here. Whitney. I've had that conversation.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

no, I.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Mm-hmm

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

I think I knew that, you know, maybe I'll change on my mission and. You know, not want to marry him when I come back and maybe he'll change and it just won't work. And,

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Mm-hmm

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

I just needed that friendship to stay the same, right. Whether it, you know, he wound up dating somebody else. I knew that was a possibility of hearts. I kind of suspected, I'm like, I think the boy's in love with me and he just doesn't know yet, but whatever. Um, flash forward, maybe week or two after that, I had put in my application and. I was in charge of a weeknight activity for, single adults, ages like 18 to 30. And we did the activity, and then everybody went home, and I was in charge of locking up. And I couldn't find Dustin. And his car was there, but he wasn't there. And I looked around, and so finally I called him. I'm like, where are you? Because he would never leave without saying goodbye. Like, we were best friends. He would never do that.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

mm

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

And that's when he said, well, Vanessa and I went out to see a movie and there was this unbelievable awkwardness and it was like, okay, uh, have fun. I hung up and, and yes, part of the sting was, wow, he's moved on from dating me very fast. The majority of it was, he didn't feel comfortable talking to me.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Mm

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

He left without saying goodbye. I didn't just lose my boyfriend. I just lost my best friend. that's when. The grief hit me, and the guilt, because you know, here I am like, super pumped to go serve Jesus, but also, super sad, you know, and like, how do you reconcile those, and feeling like, you know, I, I thought I was gonna have this really good thing, and now I'm doing what I think you want, and I lose this?

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

mm.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

know,

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

That stinks. Yeah.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

and the things we love away.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Yeah. That hurts.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

deep, I was deep in the sorrow of that. I locked myself in the church, turned off all the lights. And I sat up, um, in the chapel the stand where we have the piano and the pulpit and stuff. And I just sat there in the dark and sobbed.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Oh.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

enough strength to get out a hymn book and, play a couple of hymns because I knew I couldn't sing. I couldn't speak. I would just start crying again, but I put on one little light and I opened the hymn book and first I played a song about where can I turn for peace? And then I turned to another hymn called, Be Still My Soul. And I think I cry every time I think about this. I felt so alone and so abandoned and so let down and,

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Mm-hmm

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

even just betrayed, you know? And feeling like I was never going to be as happy again as I was when I had him as my best friend. And as I was playing through the song, there is a lyric in one of the later verses, and it says, Love's purest joys restored.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Mm,

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

And in that moment, it was like the Savior was standing right behind me, putting his arms around me, promising that very thing. Telling me, that is my promise to you. There is no loss. No joy lost that I will not restore

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

mm mm

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

and just instantly I knew it was gonna be okay I knew things would be a little awkward trying to still hang out in the same group of friends and watch him dating someone else But

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

mm-hmm

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

I wasn't overcome with that grief I knew that God always keeps his promises even if you can't see how he always does

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Yeah.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

And because of Christ, all losses are temporary.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Mm,

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

and that was the comfort I needed, you know, and on the outside, it might look silly, you know, like, Oh, you know, some little 20 year old something girl had her heart broken because she broke up with her boyfriend and she couldn't handle it and boohoo. But I think when we have those, those moments that are so deeply sacred to us, I think sorrow and grief are sacred things

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

mm

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

because Christ was a man of sorrows.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

mm

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

And so he, I don't think he comes to us in our sorrows. I think he's waiting for us there. And he knows because he's felt it. He took on the sins and the sorrows of the world, including the sorrow of my best friend, not saying goodbye after we'd already broken up. And,

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

mm

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

and that comfort did a lot for me. there were, you know, tons of trials on my mission. And, for anyone wondering, he did write me my whole mission. It turns out he was in love with me and he, proposed to me via emails while I was gone. So we got engaged while I was, serving a mission in Argentina. So, uh, yeah. You know, and, and it has been, it has been restored to me and then some, the

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Mm

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

I had with him back then, you

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

mm

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

so even when you cannot see the light out of that darkness, God promises light, you can know that it will come,

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

mm mm

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

we don't know how, but it will because he has never not kept a promise.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

I just love that story. And it's, it's, it's not. Like you said it could be just like oh some girl 20 years old got her feelings hurt. Oh just pat on the head You'll be fine But I I feel like Christ knows the depth of the pain And he can match that pain to compensate for it with that love and that comfort And where everyone else might just be ah, you'll be fine christ can really get to the nitty gritty And help us move through that darkness

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

And often he's the only one who can.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Mm hmm. That's that's a really good point Mm hmm

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

And they understand what it's like to have a miscarriage, but they don't understand what it's like to lose your baby. you had very specific hopes and dreams for that child. And, um, so I have a lot of friends. I haven't, I haven't had to go through one, but I've, and, and it's made me definitely feel, um, So inadequate to try and comfort, but I've realized that even those who have gone through it are inadequate to comfort because it's, it's not about trying to necessarily make it better. It's just about sitting in that feeling with Christ and he's the one who gives comfort. He's really the only one who can sometimes he works through us, deep down it all comes from him.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Yeah, I was thinking of the phrase oh, I know what you're going through I went through the same thing What what do you think of that?

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

Oh, gosh. Um, one of my absolute least favorite phrases that popped up over and over again during the pandemic was we're all in the same boat. Um, no, no, we are not. Some of you are on a cruise liner. Some of you are in a speedboat. Some of you are in a speedboat with a motor that doesn't work. And some of us are in dinghies that have holes and no oars. So we are not all in the same boat. We're all in the same ocean, but we are not having the same boat experience here.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Yeah

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

the boats were identical, not everyone has the same experience driving a boat. You know, there's so many factors and, that's not to say that we don't try to connect with people. I think we want to be like Christ, we have to follow in his footsteps. We have to try and meet people where they are and understand them right through pure love, because that's how Christ understands any of us, I believe,

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Yeah. Yep. Yeah.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

have some things that are the same, but. everything, you know, allows space for that person to grieve the way they need to grieve. Right. It doesn't put this burden of here's how I handled it. So if this doesn't work for you, something must be wrong with you. Right. Um, and I think the pain, knowing that a lot of people have gone through the same pain, like, as it doesn't make it any less, you know, for you, because this is the first time you're going through it. Even if you've had, you know, let's say more than one miscarriage, it's the first time you've had a second miscarriage, right? Which brings this whole different set of grief. sorry, I don't know why I brought up that example. It's just been on my mind. I've had, I had a friend who recently, um, lost her baby and it's been, um, It's just been on my mind.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

It hurts. It hurts. That's why it's on your mind. And sometimes we want to comfort them and we just can't comfort them enough. But I love the idea of sitting with them and giving space for it. And not trying to heal it ourselves, but like there's something special about Giving space for somebody to just sit with them to be with them in their pain And You know, there can't be enough hugs in that moment and And not even really bringing up, you know, hey christ can heal you because that's kind of like It's not that's not really the time right? It's like Giving space to sit with them

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

Yeah. I believe if Christ showed up and sat on the couch next to a widow who just put her husband in the ground,

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Oh, wow

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

I think they, he would call him by, call her by name, and he would put his hand on her and he would weep because Jesus wept. And, and sometimes I think our culture, we have a, um, I mean the phrase toxic positivity, you know, came out a while ago. And, um, I don't love the phrase. The concept that I think we try so hard never to feel the dark things and the hard things and We just want things to be good. We want to be comfortable. We want to be happy. We want everything to be okay and isn't comfortable, you know But how can we be followers of Christ if we are not willing to follow him into Gethsemane? Right. which, um, church leader I heard gave a quote on that. It's not, it's not a me original, but it made a profound impact on me that it is okay to hurt. And it is part of the plan to hurt.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

yeah.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

And there's so much we learn so much godliness that we can develop in that space. And even if it's in that space with somebody else, when we're holding space for them, right,

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Mmm.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

feel what they feel without any judgment,

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Mmm.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

without any. Encouragement to get over it or to take any sort of action just to be,

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Mmm.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

you know, I think of, of, you know, Christ has so many names, but one of the names that always really loved is I am.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Mmm.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

And the only action there is existing.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Mmm. Mmm.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

And so don't have to do something with our grief other than just be in it with

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Mmm.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

and let him be

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Mmm.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

with us.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Mmm. Wow, that's deep.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

You got me like so emotional, John. How dare you?

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

I wanted to talk a little bit about your book type shadows and casseroles, finding Christ in daily life. And I had this thought, you know, this episode is going to come out right before Christmas, the Sunday before Christmas. And so I thought, well, why don't we talk about Christmas symbols and then time to Christ so that we can see Christ in common Christmas symbols? How are you feeling about that? So how first of all, let me just let's just take one minute explain your book and then you'll people will be able to see Why I would want to talk about Christmas symbols.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

Okay. Um, so I first had the idea to write the book, I was planning to write almost like a mini memoir chicken soup for the soul style book where I, So the stories of my life and then how I found Christ in those situations

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Mm

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

I worked on it for a while and there was one day where God very clearly said to me, nobody will buy your book, which felt like a bit of a gut punch. Um, but then it was followed up with, they don't know who you are. don't need to know, you know, all the places that you found him. They need to know how you found him so they can find him in their own lives.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

hmm. Okay Yeah

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

I make these connections? Because it always just kind of came naturally to me, I had talked with enough people and heard that like saying, love the connections you make, but my brain just doesn't work like that. And, and that really. Made me sad that people felt like they couldn't do that because that is such a source of strength for me throughout the hardships of life is constantly finding him and reconnecting with him in those ways. So I took a while and thought, okay, well, how am I doing it? And I wrote it out and I was like, okay, is this, is this going to be too dumb? And I was like, well, let me try it. And then I was trying it with random things that you would never connect to Christ. And they were some of the most profound scriptural studies of my life. And I was like, Whoa. And it's not meant as a, here, this is the way to do it. It's meant as a, hey, maybe there's something in here that will enrich your process, whatever your process is. And if you've never had the courage to find a process, hopefully it'll inspire you jumpstart it. So it walks through just a step by step process and uses different examples and of just random things. So,

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Yeah things like casseroles Toothpaste and what are some of the other ones?

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

oh goodness, a hand printed flashlight, uh,

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Yeah, that was good Yes

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

we have a whole section on David and Goliath in there.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Yeah, that was good

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

And there's all kinds of just little things, you know, at the beginning, I talk about when I was teaching some youth in church and I challenged them to this game where I, they could say any object and I had to tell them how it was like Christ. And then I would give them any object and they had to tell me. And sometimes I would text them throughout the day. And those are some fun texts to get back. Right. And it was super simple, you know, but there were some challenging ones that they gave me, but figuring it out together, I don't know. We just, we became more one in Christ. So it was really fun game to play with them. And, um, One of my favorites was, like, getting a flat tire. What

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Yeah,

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

of Christ in getting a flat tire? You know, so. Ha ha ha.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

to tell us I'm gonna be stumped.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

John! No, um, don't remember exactly how I worded it in the book. But the idea is that even if you how to change a tire, you cannot do it without the right tools. Right? You are just not capable of doing it by yourself. to have these tools. And even if you do everything right and you change it, right. And you just don't run over any nails, your tires are going to go bald and you're going to get a flat tire anyways. So we don't just need Christ, right? Christ is the tools that let us change the things that are holding us back from getting us to where we need to go. the moments that we need Christ and we need Christ to help us change always associated with sin and repentance, right? Sometimes it's just the way life wears on you and tears you down. And. If you have the wrong tools, not going to be able to change the tire. It's not about having any tool. It's about having the right tools. And Christ is the light, the truth, and the way. He's the whatever tools that you use to change tires. I have not changed very many in my life. A tire iron, that's one of them, right?

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

I don't know what that's called. Maybe it's called.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

I don't know.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Okay, let's jump into Christmas. That's where this is episodes coming out a few days before Christmas. I'm thinking, you know, snow. What do you think about snow? Tie snow to Christ?

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

Oh, goodness. Um, I mean, Isaiah probably did it better than anybody else could. You're giving me the easy ones here, John. The idea of, of newness. Right? Snow covers everything. When it falls, there's nothing it doesn't fall on. And Christ's love can cover sin that we've done. His atonement can cover us and save us from anything that we've done. We can never do something that pulls us so far that we've removed ourselves from the love of Christ and the power of Christ to save us. let's see. We could look at how One example I use in the book, I do use snow as an example, not necessarily of finding Christ, but of a principle that we're talking about. I grew up in Arizona, and growing up, I had always seen pictures, you know, like little clipart pictures of a snowflake, and seen pictures of a snowy landscape, and, but I never really experienced snow. It snowed once or twice my whole life, and, It melted like before it even hit the ground. But we moved to Utah, for my husband's master's program. And there was one day I was bringing in the groceries and I parked my car in the garage and I pulled myself out of the back and I'm walking around and I see my rear view or my side view mirror, which is black, has these white things on it. And there's something weird about him. And I look closely and there's snowflakes. But like, can see the actual design. Like they look like all the little clip art pictures. Blew my mind. I, I had no idea. that's what's that snow could actually look like in my mind. It was always just kind of like this amorphous like of white that fall and then glob together, right? That yeah, it probably looks like that under a microscope, right? With your naked eye, can see all of these intricate, beautiful crystals. Oh, John, I put the groceries down because thankfully, you know, it was cold enough to snow. So they were going to be fine. And I stood out there in my driveway with my black coat, just letting snowflakes follow me and staring at them just in absolute wonder. To this day, like, the first real snowfall, if I see it on my car, like, where the flakes are preserved, I'm like, with my camera taking pictures, and we spent five years in Minnesota, so, like, you think I would be done with snow by now,

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Yeah, me. Yeah, I would

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

I still find it amazing, and One of the things that I think is awesome about it is you, I thought I knew snow. I thought he knew everything there was to know about snow. And it wasn't until I looked closer that I realized the most beautiful thing that I hadn't even fathomed could be real. I think sometimes, especially if we, Are born into families that raise us in the gospel of Christ. And we are born believing in Christ and we've believed in my whole life. It's very easy to get complacent. You know, you can read the whole Bible through a few times and then you're like, I've read it. I know these scriptures, you know, and. You know, you can hear a dozen sermons on faith and maybe on the 13th you start tuning out because you've kind of heard it all before. But, Snow reminds me that you haven't. There are beautiful truths and realities that you don't even know exist because assume you already know everything there is to know. And so, if we want Christ to teach us, we have to get rid of that idea of, I already know this. Right? you've studied the story of David and Goliath a million times, you're like, well, I know what everything in David and Goliath means. I'm fairly confident that one of the symbols that we talk about in my book is something you've never considered before.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

I agree 100%.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

always more to learn, but we have to get rid of essentially that pride and admit, I don't know everything. And when you do beautiful things open up.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

The hardest students to teach are the ones who are like, I've heard all this stuff before.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

Yep. Yep.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Brain. Shut down. Okay, let's jump into, that was beautiful by the way. Let's jump, let's jump into a more direct Christmas symbol. How about a Christmas tree?

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

I grew up with, friends of our family that owned a Christmas tree farm. And part of our

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

No way.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

going over to the Christmas tree farm or like they didn't own the farm. They owned the lot, I should specify. And so like, we would always go over to their lot and, you know, pick out a real tree and I think my parents

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Okay.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

We would get a real tree and loved the way it smelled. And that was like my whole life. Right. But were always times where by the end of the season, and sometimes if you got the tree too early in the season, there comes a point where even when you're trying to water it, it dies. And, and I remember getting to a point where I'm like, it's so sad. know, like I kind of want to just like leave the trees where they are and decorate them. Like this tree was never going to get to grow any bigger, you know? Can't, why don't we just like keep plant trees in our yard and then decorate those and we can go. look at those, you know, save space, save trees, you know, why does the tree have to die? And so I think there are times where when you think about Jesus and how much you love Jesus and the joy he brings to you, it can be tempered with that sadness of, but why did he have to die

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Wow.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

for me? He had to die so that I could have joy with my family, so that I could overcome of these things. And so all the joy that you associate with trees, with decorating, picking them out, the smell of pine in your house, the presence underneath them, in order for that to happen, the tree has to die, eventually. Right? You can't go plant it again. So,

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Wow.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

guys, John didn't like prep me with any of these. Okay, so

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

She's like, wow. I mean, I was thinking, okay, this is a great activity by the way. If any parent is listening to this, this is a great activity. Activity to do with the kids. You're not going to get a Whitney Explanation about the the dying tree, but I've done this with students You know, I teach high school age students ninth to twelfth grade and you'll get you know The tree points that the pine needles point to heaven It's green for everlasting light and the lights, you know bring light to the world and and it's beautiful It's a fun conversation and it's very engaging for children and teenagers to think about these things. And so it's a great activity that I recommend to that parents to do with their children as you're sitting around, maybe not Christmas day. Okay. They don't want to talk about this on Christmas day, but maybe, maybe the day this episode comes out and you're sitting around at dinner and go, Hey kids, Christmas is this week. Let's talk about. Symbols of Christmas and talk about how it might point to Christ or divide up the family I like to divide up my classes into small groups and have them work on a little You know write down some symbols and talk about it. What were you gonna add?

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

Was just gonna say it's if you have kids that are anything like mine Sometimes asking them how their day went is like pulling teeth Like how did school go

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Yeah. Yeah

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

all I want to talk about is video games or Pokemon or something and as a parent around the dinner table you're like We gotta, we gotta find more meaningful conversation here that we can all participate in. So it is, it's a good one to do for dinner if, especially if they don't want to talk about them, talk about Christ. And

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Oh,

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

up a habit of it, it's something easy that you can whip out with anything. Cause that's, that's the premise, right? Is that can be a symbol of Christ. So you don't have to think of what the symbol is before you propose the item, right? You're driving to You know, home from school and your kid's there and you see a fire hydrant with the thing off and water spewing into the street. That's been our drive home for the last three days. How is Jesus like that fire hydrant, right? You just name what you see or what you're doing, that

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

I love it

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

How do we find Jesus in it? So it takes the pressure off because literally you can just pick anything. if you can't find a symbol right away, that's okay. Then you ask everybody else in the family and you get everybody thinking about it and somebody comes up with it. And I will say You might get some easy basic answers from some of your kids, but also the more you do it with them, the more they surprise you. The more I've, as my son has matured, my oldest son, he's 16, and he will say things that just floor me. I didn't, I didn't know you had that level of depth in you,, again, like I assumed I knew my child, but there's always something you don't People surprise you. Snowflakes surprise you. If we hadn't engaged in those conversations, I would have never known that he had that level of faith, you know, don't underestimate them. They'll surprise you occasionally. Other times they're very predictable.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

It's like the more we talk about scriptures in my classes, the more they get comfortable with it. And, and then out of the blue, kids will say things that just light a fire in each other and in me as an experienced teacher who's been in the scriptures for years and years and decades now to have a teenager say something and to go, you know what? I've never even considered that. So I love doing things like this with teenagers. And I got to do you this activity and I thank you for the reminder I say this is a good activity for parents, but this is a good activity for any teacher as you're working with youth anybody really as We prepare for Christmas and a tie to Jesus Christ and I love how you talked about The more you've done it with your kids, they've got better at it and they have those Aha moments. And that's really what this podcast is about, trying to help us walk with the Savior through other people's examples and other people's experiences and other people's stories so that we can find things that relate to us, connect to us and inspire us to more fully seek the Savior, Jesus Christ. I want to thank you so much for coming on and just being a wonderful example. And, and really, honestly. Like I said, I've read scriptures for 20, 30, 40 years now. When I read your chapter on, uh, David and Goliath, it was revelatory and it inspired me to want to do better at finding Christ in everyday activities. And so what a great witness and a walk with the savior you've led me on.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

Thank you so much. It was, it was revelatory to be here. Like I said, you, you didn't prep me with a lot of those and, and just talking about and feeling that insight and that inspiration coming from the spirit in the moment is, oh gosh, I've had such an overwhelming day. There's been so many things that have gone wrong and,

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Hmm.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

I really

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Hmm.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

connection. So thank you

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Hmm.

whitney-hemsath--she-her-_1_12-12-2024_172145:

the platform for it.

john_1_12-12-2024_172143:

Yeah. And last. You know, to our, to the listeners is just encourage you to look over at your Christmas tree and remember it had to die to give you the gift of that tree and to give you the presence and to have the lights on it and to have the joy that it gives you and that gives our family. And just as that tree had to die, Jesus died and he had to die so that we could have greater happiness, greater joy, and so that he could be the light of the world. And I testify that Jesus loves you, and He cares for you, and He's with you, and He's there to comfort us. And I just want to encourage you to have a Merry Christmas, everybody! This Christmas week, people! Merry Christmas, everybody! We love you! See you next week on Walk With the Savior Podcast.