You Never Know

You truly never know when something you do will have such an impact on someone. It is even more special when that person is someone whom you have loved and adored most of your life.

When we were moving from Laughlin, NV to Texas, we were running out of room on the U-haul and Rich told me that some stuff would have to stay behind. My Dad had made me a beautiful country style clock when Rich and I were married, and there was no way that the U-haul was going to be packed before that clock got on the truck. So ,I carried that clock outside and said you can leave anything else behind, but not this and watched as it was packed on the truck. To this day, it is still one of my most prized worldly possessions.

My friend, Liz Wold Cook, sent this to me today, via email She wrote this for an English class in college. I never thought twice about giving her the gift.

The Greatest Gift

By Elizabeth Cook


I remember the smell of the wood shavings. They clung to his flannel shirt and piled onto the floor as my father whittled away at a figurine. Though it was just a hobby, my father was a meticulous and masterful woodworker, his designs intricate, balanced, and free from blemish. His artistic talents amazed me. He could carve so many different designs using only one tool. I often found him in his workshop where he was busy creating intricate pieces of furniture or hand-carved decorative plaques, which he often gave as gifts at Christmas time, and for weddings or graduations.

As a seminary teacher, institute director, and Church Education System Administrator, my father blessed the lives of his students. On many occasions, my father used his woodworking talent to inspire and motivate them. As a young teenager, I had the privilege to participate in his seminary class. I remember that he would challenge his students to read their scriptures, memorize them, and become Scripture Masters. For those students who succeeded, my father crafted a personalized carving as recognition for their accomplishment. For a student athlete, he carved a cartoon-like figurine of a bodybuilder. For an outdoorsman he created a statuette of a Clydesdale horse. For another he crafted a majestic eagle.

My father created his most beautiful pieces for his own children. On their wedding days, my father gave priceless hand-carved treasures to my older siblings. Each of them received an intricately designed, hand-carved wooden plate, etched with their names and wedding date. As a girl, I often dreamt of the precious wedding plate I would receive on my wedding day.

That dream vanished when one month after I became engaged, my dear father passed away. His passing brought a sadness and sense of loss I had never experienced. My future, as I always imagined it, completely changed. My dad would not be present on my wedding day. He would never really know my husband. He would not know my children. And sadly, as my wedding day approached, I realized I would never receive my wedding plate.

My life, however, was soon blessed with a treasure I had always longed for. A few months before my wedding day, a childhood friend surprised me with an early wedding gift. As I opened the package, my eyes filled with tears and my heart leapt with joy as I recognized one of my dad’s beautiful wood carvings. My friend had given me the hand-carved plaque that my father gave her several years earlier. Somehow she felt prompted to pass the gift on to me. Her generous and thoughtful gesture touched me in a way I will never forget.

The wooden plaque etched with the words to live by, “Live Well, Love Much, Laugh Often”, hangs in a prominent place in our home. It reminds me daily of the love my father and I share. Even more, looking at the plaque floods my mind with beautiful memories of the life my dad led, and the influence he was and still is on his family. It is a treasure I always wanted, but never expected to receive.