Improve the Shining Moments

On Saturday I received a call from my sister, Allison, letting me know that my sister, Mindy, had slipped from this life and on to the next at 8:35pm. All day Saturday Mindy did not open her eyes or speak. She was pretty much incoherent. My mother, who had been sitting by her all day, was preparing to go to Mindy's house to get some sleep. She leaned down close to Mindy's face and said, "Mindy, I'm going to go now. I will be back in the morning." At that time a tear left Mindy's eye and fell down her cheek and she stopped breathing. My brother, Stan, Sister-in-law, Brenna, and nephew, Markie, were also in the room.
On Sunday at church the opening song was "Improve the Shining Moments." You can imagine my emotions as I sang:

Verse 2: Time flies on wings of lightning;
We cannot call it back.
It comes, then passes forward
Along its onward track.
And if we are not mindful,
The chance will fade away,
For life is quick in passing.
'Tis as a single day.

Verse 3: Improve each shining moment.
In this you are secure,
For promptness bringeth safety
And blessings rich and pure.
Let prudence guide your actions;
Be honest in your heart;
And God will love and bless you
And help to you impart.

That sure did speak to my heart. It was a tender mercy of the Lord, a message just for me--right there during sacrament meeting. It conveyed exactly what I was trying to say in my "Important Things" post. I quickly pulled myself together after the song because I was to teach sharing time in Primary the next two hours. Mindy was the Primary President in her ward when I was called as Primary President in my ward. I know that she was a skilled teacher. So instead of asking one of my counselors to take over this sharing time, because of my sister's passing, I decided to teach it with strength like my sister Mindy would do. I have made a promise to myself to improve the shining moments.


Mindy's Obituary

Malinda Larie Bastian Wadley 1953 ~ 2008 Malinda "Mindy" Wadley, born March 1, 1953 in Spokane, WA, passed away on November 15, 2008 in Portland, OR, at age 55, after a battle with cancer. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, November 22, 2008 at 2 p.m. at the Gabriel Park Ward, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, located at 6605 SW Garden Home Road in Portland, arrangements by Young's Funeral Home. Interment will be at Pleasant Grove Utah City Cemetery, 500 N Main St., on Tuesday, November 25, following a graveside service at 1 p.m. Mindy was raised in Colville, WA, and graduated from Colville High School as valedictorian of the Class of 1971. A girl of many talents, Mindy was very involved in school activities and was elected the first female student body officer (vice president) at CHS. Mindy represented the city of Colville as Princess Malinda in the Colville Royalty, 1970-71. Mindy attended both Brigham Young University and Washington State University before moving to Seattle, WA, where she worked for 18 years, first as a bookkeeper, and later as manager of the Seattle Clinic of Medicine. For the past 15 years, she was the Billing Coordinator at OHSU's University Fertility Consultants in Portland. Mindy was an active member of the Gabriel Park Ward, serving in many capacities to the benefit of her fellow church members. She married Stephen A. Wadley on August 17, 1991, in the Manti Temple. Mindy's father, June Bastian, preceded her in death in 2002. Survivors include her husband, Stephen Wadley, Portland, OR; mother, Pauline Bastian, American Fork, UT; sisters, Michele "Shelly" Glaus, Gilbert, AZ; Cherisse Jaeger, American Fork, UT; Teresa Collette, Seattle, WA; Allison Routt, American Fork, UT; Krista Salisbury, Basin City, WA; and Rachel LeBaron, Spanish Fork, UT; brothers, Stanton Bastian, El Dorado, CA and Brett Bastian, Wilsonville, OR; 50 nieces and nephews, 19 grandnieces and grandnephews, and numerous aunts and uncles. Funeral arrangements in Utah by Olpin Family Mortuary. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/deseretnews/obituary.aspx?pid=120433156#sthash.p786iOqe.dpuf