The Colors of My Mission

When I first came to Ensign Ranch

 The nights were long, the mornings crisp and cold-

The sky seemed often gray and bleak

With bare branches stark and bold.

The time went by and the nights grew shorter

The sun was up when the day begun.

When we saw the pink and purple of the Trillium

It meant that winter was on the run.

Before we knew it our world was green

With all of the shrubs and trees.

Visions of majestic mountains

And a constant gentle breeze.

The forest floor and paths

Yes, green were the pastures and meadows

And then there were various hues of blue

That the streams and lakes and rivers hath.

Sometimes when the sun was shining

There was still a constant mist

Not a cloud in the sky from whence it might come

There were many navy blue skies at night

With bright white twinkling stars;

And on summer evenings when it started to cool

Spectacular lavender sunsets were ours.

Then often when least expecting it

Liquid sunshine was the gist.

We’d raise our eyes and see

A rainbow with every color

Making a heavenly canopy.

Oh, My! About the rainbows

Arching over and beyond our view

The promise it represents from God

And our knowledge that it’s true.

This has been a time of service

How fun to have it be something I love

In this autumn of my life.

With very little strife.

We felt that the call

To serve at Ensign Ranch

Was truly from the Lord,

And not just happenstance.

Here we learned that we were not alone

With broken hearts and humble spirits

We came together in peace to serve as one.

We asked our Heavenly Father

To help us understand the reason

That four of six couples serving today

Were brought together for a season.

In the loss of a beloved son.

It’s almost overwhelming when I focus

Across the continuum of the past twelve months

We felt the presence of our sons

Encouraging and assisting us for good.

Life has come and then it goes

A cycle of Gods Plan

On the colors that have span-

Serving the best we could

Now I ask myself often

Did I make a difference in someone’s life this year?

Even though I say “It’s all about food”

And the accolades were clear…

Should I have chosen another path

Or was what I had to offer him

To serve my fellow man?

Acceptable for his plan?

The friendships formed and bonds built

Will last throughout the years…

Though years have come and gone

Then sometime in eternity

We’ll reunite with tears.

And now I’m officially old

I find my world is changing

 From emerald green to burning gold.

Sister Jimae Kenney – Serving at Ensign Ranch, Cle Elum, Washington - 2015

changes from green to gold