Comprehensive Love

“I’ve never been here,” my father-in-law, Kearlee, commented. After a steep climb up a narrow, winding trail, we entered a broad, green valley, dotted with wildflowers. With green hills rising on left and right, and Carter lake next to the trail, it was a wonderful afternoon of hiking. He was in his late eighties. I had been married into his family for nearly 40 years.

“You’ve never been here?” I asked. He had lived in Soldotna for 65 years and raised his four children there. The Carter lake trail was not far from his home.

“I was always working,” he replied.

A business owner, he worked long hours, six days a week. He and his wife Beth moved to Soldotna as partners in a grocery business in the early 1960s. Together, Kearlee and Beth raised two sons and two daughters. Kearlee was always happy, and his work never seemed to be a burden, but rather a joy. Beth was busy, joyful and efficient in her work in their home and in supporting the children’s needs and interests. The fact that Kearlee didn’t have much time for recreation never occurred to me, even after all these years, because his children loved the Alaskan outdoors. The eldest was a licensed pilot before he was fifteen, and became a skilled bush pilot. He and my husband Kerry flew all over the Kenai Peninsula and across Cook Inlet for hunting and fishing adventures as teenagers. My husband was a skilled boatsman, and he knew the Kenai river like the back of his hand before he could drive. His dad’s friends often drove from Anchorage hoping Kerry would take them fishing on the Kenai. Kearlee and Beth’s hard work and generosity extended to their children-in-law as they housed and employed us during college in the summers. During those summers Beth cooked for all of the kids and spouses, and they loaned us their vehicles when needed.

But Kearlee and Beth? They worked to ensure their children and grandchildren and children-in-law could learn, grow, and enjoy every opportunity life had to offer. They enabled us with their love and hard work. They sacrificed for us, yet made it look like a joy.

Kearlee and Beth bent toward their children. They “leaned in.” The best way I can describe this kind of love is comprehensive. It covers each member of the family. It is kind, thoughtful, and seeks what is best for family members, not what one wants for themselves. Being loved “comprehensively” is remarkable. It is impossible to describe the peace and joy family members feel from this sacrifice-laden love.

Our Heavenly Father also loves us comprehensively. Everything He does is for us, His children. He “leans in.” He is always bent toward us. In His great love for us, our Heavenly Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ to earth to mark the path for us. Jesus offered himself as the infinite sacrifice that would atone for all the sins, mistakes and weaknesses of mankind. With no thought for personal glory, Jesus provided the guarantee that we could come to earth, gain a body, and learn from trial and error without being eternally punished for our mistakes.

The scope of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s “comprehensive” love for us encompasses many phases of our existence. Jesus was our premortal brother. Through the power of His great Atoning Sacrifice, he redeems us from eternal death through the Resurrection. He redeems us from sin. He sustains us and gives us strength. He provides covenants and commandments that guide us back into the arms of our loving Heavenly Father. He offers to share all that He and our Heavenly Father have eternally with us, as “joint heirs” with Him.

Patterned after our Heavenly Father’s and Jesus’s comprehensive love, Kearlee and Beth have also sacrificed whatever they could to help each family member be more happy and successful. One Christmas all the kids and grandkids gathered in their home for two weeks. Beth had spent a month putting up Christmas decorations all around the yard and on the house. There were so many beautiful lights that when we used the microwave at night while the Christmas lights were on, the electric breaker would blow. Beth would laugh and Kearlee would reset the breaker. I chuckle about that today. She wanted the house to be festive for her family to enjoy, and it was. There are now three generations who are blessed by their comprehensive love. Grandkids fly up with their own children each summer to visit, and true to form, Kearlee and Beth do whatever they can to help them enjoy Alaskan fishing, hiking, and hospitality. Comprehensive love continues.

Beth Wright enjoys hiking, biking, fishing, and family. She worships Jesus Christ as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.