Breeattitudes

Here they are.  The Savior gave the Beattitudes as a incredible beggining to the higher law.  For so long, the Old Testament commandments were the gateway to happiness adn righteoussnes.  Finally, in New Testament times, the Savior hoped to bring God's children closer to him by not just doing, but by being.  Elder Robbins of course whom I have mentioned earlier gave a talk just about this very subject.

Breeana has been so wonderful to me and it's time the world sees her beattitudes or attributes. Who she has become is someone I cherish so deeply.  I have carefully named them the Breeatitudes.

The Breeattitudes – The wonderful attributes of my beautiful wife, Breeana Mickelsen Hawkes

1. Faith – The faith of this woman is incredible. To have seen her go from relying on medication to defying the medical field because of faith in the Atonement of Christ is a story only heard in New Testament times. It was a decision she made and one that didn’t take two tries. It was as if, Christ himself had come and said, “The Atonement will take care of this”, and she simply said, “Okay”. And that was it. She hasn’t looked back.

2. Diligence – No I am not going to just name a bunch of qualities and then find a story somewhere in her life that correlates. This is for real. Diligence is defined by the Princeton people as “giving the degree of care required in a given situation”. In the home as a mother, as a caretaker, and as a housewife, I see the required care given in all these situations. She cannot and will not go to bed no matter how late it is until the house is clean. She understands that a clean house is a house of God. She cannot rest until it is clean. Maybe that has something to do with the creative periods. It wasn’t until the 7th day when all the work was done, that God proclaimed a day of rest. Could it be true that our homes have become a personal god-like home. Breeana certainly makes it that way, every day. Each meal made is not thrown together like I do. It is carefully measured and scraped and divided so each recipe can be at its best. “You can’t just put whatever you want in it and however much you want”, I hear often. Maybe she is right. These little creations at dinnertime could also symbolize the proper care and attention given when the light was divided from the darkness, and when dry land was carefully gathered together, and God saw that things were good. Just as God carefully gave life to fowls, flowers, cattle, and creeping things, so has Breeana carefully given life to the minds of our children. Whether, it is a popsicle stick picture frame, or a painted picture of pretty princesses, Breeana has diligently given our children what God had when he first created the world – Imagination.

3. A well known hymn reminds me of this next attribute – “For the Beauty of the Earth”. Certainly when God created Breeana, it was for the beauty of the earth. From the moment I saw her in the Orem Institute basement bearing testimony, until today in her pink t-shirt stirring black bean soup, she has remained, in my mind, the daisy of our marriage. There were daisy’s that day, on each table, I think. What a fitting flower. It looks so well organized. All the petals in the right place, although there are lots of them. None of them are torn or withered. There could be lots of daisies, but just one is really all you need to add spice to life. Just one gives you the added excitement needed to make a bad day turn into an incredible day. I bet she doesn’t even know that she is in my thoughts. She doesn’t even know I bet, that I often think of her during the day, and that I wish sometimes, we could do our first 6 months of marriage over. I would try better to treat her right and spend more time with her. I was an idiot sometimes, and still am. I took her right out from under her missionary’s nose. I couldn’t help myself though. When she really smiles and laughs, and isn’t faking it, it is like she becomes another person. This new personality. I think it is the smile that gets me. When she has a sincere smile, there is nothing more beautiful to look at. I think sometimes she thinks she isn’t beautiful. I think maybe she compares herself to others that she sees. I wish she could see what I see. Wouldn’t it be neat if she could see what God sees? I think she would then see from the inside out. She would, I think, see that the “beauty of the earth” comes from He who first created it. That is what I love about her, her beauty comes from heaven. I think angels are described this way sometimes. Yea, that is what I think she is.

4. Love – What is this thing they call love? Probably when they handed out love packets in heaven, she thought it was an after Thanksgiving Day sale. She just thought they were the cutest things ever and had to get them all. Well, it certainly has paid off down here. From the late night runs to the store, because I am too tired, to the endless hours of facing 4 kids all alone, somehow in all the craziness, she still loves us. And she shows it. She takes the kids where they want to go. She buys them treats even after they have been little ‘outer darkness’ kids for a day. Even when I am late, which is always, there is kindness. What is so neat, is that when I am just not feeling like the dishes are my favorite thing to do, and I tell myself I will do them in the morning before I leave and forget to do them, she just does them. I know she wants me to have that opportunity to serve, but she always takes it from me. There is no animosity after she does it. She loves me and so she helps me. I could probably do a lot better in helping her. What is so neat is the amount of time and effort she spends in making sure her own kids and cousins and siblings and in laws are taken care of during birthdays, and holidays and special occasions. She even got a job on top of all that she does, so she doesn’t have to dip into our budget to bless the lives of those she loves! Love is shown in many ways, and I think Breeana shows it not only in many ways, but all ways (always). I think I am in love again. What is this thing called love? I think that thing is Breeana Hawkes, the most beautiful, caring, loving, compassionate, considerate, amazing, and may I add sexy (she would hate me for putting this in, but it is true), person in the whole entire universe.