Remembering Alonzo Jansen

Saturday morning was our turn to help clean the church.

I was happy to do so...it had been about two years since we had done it because until this morning, we have had four wards in our building.

The last time we did it, Doris Hancock was there helping...she was in her 80's and it reminded me that our church gives opportunities to serve, no matter what our age.

Only 6 people showed up to help, so we were there for quite awhile.  Our building is LARGE.  I've been to Churches in our faith that are small and it wouldn't take very long to clean, but ours has a lot of classrooms and long halls and big chapel, three bathrooms, etc.  So, the six of us worked hard to get the entire building cleaned and ready for Sunday.

While I was vacuuming, I thought many times of the custodian in our ward in Rexburg, Idaho.  Alonzo Jansen.  It made me realize what a big job it is to keep a church clean.  It also made me hope that I had helped to keep it clean by cleaning up after my family when we ate Cheerios, pizza, and other items in the chapel or elsewhere.  When I taught Primary, did I have the class clean up after?  When I was in Young Women, did I teach them it was OUR responsibility to clean up after ourselves when we left?  Probably not, and I don't like knowing that about me!

I know that I take more responsibility for keeping the church clean now that WE THE PEOPLE are the ones doing the cleaning.  But, I don't think I felt that way all those years ago.  "Let someone else do it," is probably what I reasoned.  And that is so wrong in every instance; church, school, car, home, buildings.  It REALLY IS my responsibility.

I used to think that Brother Janson was overprotective about the building, but now I get it.  Gum in the classroom carpet, milk spilled on the pews, red punch in the hallway; it just doesn't come out!  It's not our building to show such disrespect.  Bother Janson was a good man, with a large family and he deserved my respect and the respect of my family for the wonderful job he did over the years.  I wish I could tell him that now.

But, what I can do now, is twofold.  Be a better steward to any building, home, car, office, that I enter.  And, secondly, be appreciative to those who do the cleaning; janitors, cleaners, etc.

Yes, I'm grateful I helped clean the church, and it's a good reminder that I need to be aware of picking up, cleaning up, not messing up wherever I go!