Waiting for the Bus

By Sam An Anderson

When my severely handicapped daughter, Toni, was in school, I had to wait for a specially equipped bus to pick her up and bring her home every day.

Because we lived up a canyon, the school bus didn’t come all the way to our house. Every day we’d drive down the canyon to the home of another child who rode the same bus, so my daughter could catch the bus. For several years this was the routine. The mother of the other student and I became friends as we waited together for the bus each morning and afternoon. Then when her son grew too old for the school, Toni and I waited for the bus in a nearby elementary school parking lot.

Without another mother to visit with daily, I began to feel that the five to thirty minutes I waited in the car in the morning and again in the afternoon were boring and frustrating.

I don’t remember how the Ensign magazine got into my car. Perhaps I had picked up the mail and forgotten to take it into the house. But there it was, and one afternoon while I was waiting for the school bus, I began to read. Suddenly the bus was there. I left the Ensign in my car, and every day when I had to wait for the bus, I read. I found that every month I read the entire magazine before the next issue arrived. I could even complete the general conference issues.

Day by day, month by month, season by season, I began to change. My spirit soared as I read stories of faith and inspiration. Articles by General Authorities stretched and enlightened my understanding of the gospel and its principles.

Reading cover to cover, I pored over every word in the Ensign. Many times I met the bus with tears in my eyes. I no longer resented the time I spent waiting.

Slowly, almost imperceptibly, my life began to change as I read the Ensign. My attitude was softened and my spirituality increased.

When Toni completed her schooling and I no longer waited for the bus, I realized that I missed the time I had spent reading the Ensign. Eventually I found time just before going to bed each night to read an article or two. I still enjoy the benefits of the articles as the Spirit touches my heart. Monthly I continue to grow.

Illustration by Dixon Leavitt