Showing posts with label blessings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blessings. Show all posts

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Succor

Life is hard. Sometimes more than other times. And for me the last few years have been almost a hell on earth with the emotional roller coaster we have been taken on.  And many times I don't see the protecting hand of the Lord even though it is there.  I sit in church, read the church magazines, listen to conference and through it all there are miracles and people get bright neon colored glow in the dark answers to their prayers both spoken and unspoken.

Me? Not so much. I go along, do what I am supposed to and get.... nothing.  And yet I plod along day after day putting one foot in front of the other all the while whispering "I can't do this, I can't do this" and yet I do it anyway despite my murmurings and complainings and wonder when I get the neon miracle or answer.

I don't know why some are granted the obvious, big, bold, labeled for the world to see answers/blessing. But I do know that we all get answers/blessing whether we see them and acknowledge them or not.

I have decided to read the Book of Mormon cover to cover each and every month that Jake is on his mission.  In fact I started last month so today I am on day 11 of reading it this way the second time through. By the time he gets home I will have read it 26 times.

Now I want to make a point here.  I decided in December to spend this year going back to basics to help my fragile, broken heart and family to heal.  Immediately I was released from Relief Society and put in Junior Primary. And each and every experience has brought me to my knees to just have Father help make through just one more day. And some days it was just one more hour.  I had to start all over learning to rely on my Heavenly Father and most of those days I felt as if I was ignored and forgotten. In my broken state I was lost and alone and lonely.

Last month as I read in the Book of Mormon I was reminded of all that the Nephites went through and the cycle they repeated over and over until their own iniquity brought about their destruction.  I was reminded that sometimes bad things happen to us at the hands of others not so much so that we will suffer, but so that their punishments will be just.  And I cried for the spiraling downward of a loved one into the depths and pits of iniquity knowing that because of his behavior and consequent discarding of us will bring about just punishment for him.  And I was sad.

But still wanted my packaged neon miracle or blessing just the way I ordered it.  Hadn't I suffered enough? Gone through enough? Wasn't I good enough?

Then somehow a page or links or something started showing up in my Facebook feed and it dealt with how to heal from the very thing my family had experienced.  Even though I have a degree in Psychology and a degree in Counseling, this was new information to me and what wasn't new was presented in exactly the way I needed it to start the long, arduous process of healing. And it has helped me put in place some things to help me. A blessing, just not gift wrapped with candles but a blessing non the less.

As I started reading The Book of Mormon again this month I noticed another theme that seemed to be repeated in almost every chapter.  I have read this book numerous times over the past 50 years and never noticed how often this is repeated: 


That we have to come unto Christ and build a sure foundation in and through Him.  I knew this, I just hadn't realized how often it was repeated other than the above scripture.  I have read it in every single days reading this month.

This month's Ensign is full of articles on receiving personal revelation and the coming back to basics that we need to do and the keep on slogging on even when we are tired and then we will receive that which we are asking for.Another blessing if I take the time to read and ponder and study?

This morning I was watching KBYU while getting ready for church.  They were rebroadcasting a devotional given earlier this month. The speaker spoke about things that had happened in his families lives starting with his 3rd great grandmother and an experience their family had after the Hanns Mill Massacre. I was only half listening because that was one of those neon wrapped miracles I was talking about.  Then he went on to talk about the song they sang earlier in the meeting- that I missed because it was before I turned on the t.v.


In every condition- in Sickness and health,
in poverty's vale or abounding in wealth,
At home or abroad, on the land or the sea
As they days my demand,
so they succor shall be.

**Succor= to come quickly To give assistance to in time of want, difficulty, or distress

Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed, 
For I am they God and will still give thee aid.
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

**omnipotent= unlimited power

When through the deep waters I call thee to go
The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o'erflow,
For I will be with thee, they troubles to bless
And sanctify to thee,thy deepest distress

**sanctify= to make holy

When through fiery trials they pathway shall lie
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and they gold to refine

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hall should endeavor to shake
I'll never, no never, no never forsake!

And I realized that even though my miracles are not the ones I have begged for and are not happening the way I want and are not bright glow in the dark neon, they are there anyway.  They are there when I get up every morning and make it through the day. They are there when I crave reading my scriptures before doing anything else. They are there when my son gives an awesome talk in church in preparation to go to Canada to teach the gospel to those that don't have it. They are there when I am not looking and He is succoring me and helping me and causing me to stand even if I don't realize it.

They are there.
________________________________________________________________________________
Indeed

Friday, September 18, 2009

I love...

I love a lot of things, but today's post is about those Random Acts of Kindness (RAK days for my kids) the Lord blesses you with. You know, the ones that are kinda hard to pass of as something that just happens.

I am a reader of this blog. Last week she blogged about Luvs diapers. Now, I know that I am way past the diaper stage of my family, but my wonderful daughter in law is not. And her husband, my first born, is gone. Far away. Overseas. Fighting to keep us free from tyrany and opression. And when he comes home (next week or the next maybe, if the military people don't change their minds- again) he will not have a job.

What he will have is a wife that loves him. And two children older than they were when he left them. 4 days after child #2 was born. She doesn't even know she has a daddy that loves her (luvs? her). And 2 kids in diapers and no job is not fun. For anyone.

So I commented on Kristen's blog last Friday. Tuesday Kristen told us who won the 6 month supply of diapers. It wasn't my comment. Later in the day she updated the blog to tell us that someone had donated some money for diapers to a random commenter.

Then Wed. afternoon I got this e-mail from Kristen:

Hi,

Another of my readers wanted to contribute $50 for a commenter of my diaper post. Your comment was randomly picked for your daughter (in law), I believe!Congratulations!

Blessings,

Kristen Welch http://www.wearethatfamily.com

I opened the e-mail while I was at work and had to fix my makeup from the tears. Then I got home and had to run to class. I have not even had a chance to tell Kristina yet. She is probably finding out about it at the same time you are.

Here is the post where she updated that. (Except the link to my name goes to the wrong website. The link used to be mine, but I let it expire and someone else bought it.)

So Kristina, I have diaper money for you. And if you are not familiar with Kristen's blog, check it out. She truly is one of God's angels here on earth blessing lives and giving others that opportunity as well.



Indeed.

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Wednesday, September 17, 2008

To everything there is a time

We had a different kind of stake conference a couple of weeks ago. We gathered in our stake center as usual, but the conference was shown by video feed to stakes in Utah county, Wasatch county and the BYU stakes. We heard from Elder Marlin K. Jensen (Hi Allison), Ann Dibb, Boyd K Packer, and Dieter F. Uchtdorf. It was a great conference and I didn't want it to end. I would have been happy to stay for the second session, the re-broadcast, and hear it all again. I am going to have to see if it was recorded and get a copy if it was.

While I loved all the talks and took a lot of notes, it is Pres. Uchtdorf's talk that touched my spirit the most. His is the talk that I felt was meant just for me. That he was speaking to me personally, one on one, heart to heart. It was answer to questions, thoughts, themes I have had in my mind for a while now. And it was some of the same council that I have been receiving from my bishop and daddy, but it put some things a bit more into place for me. While the big picture is still not perfectly clear, it is easier to see and the outlines of shapes are beginning to form.

He spoke about increasing our faith in our Heavenly Father and in Jesus Christ. He asked us what we are personally doing to increase this faith. Are our answers quick and shallow, you know, the Sunday School answers? Or are they soul searching, deep and ispired for our situation? Pres. Uchtdorf then went on to state that when we are ready, we can then be taught from on high, but that our answers will follow God's timetable, but when the time comes, we must follow the instructions if we want to be blessed with increased faith.

This seems to be a recurring theme for me lately. There is a situation in my life that I would like changed, yesterday already please. In one way or another, I keep being told, In the Lord's time it will happen and it will be great when it does, but not yet, not yet, not yet. I used to think I was patient person, but I am beginning to think that patience is one of the things I am being taught. Patience and the willingness to listen and obey.

As I am reading Day of Remembrance, the timing of heaven is a running theme. So many things I never thought of, or thought to think of. I am once again humbled by my lack, by my impatience, by my mortal short sightedness. When I think I know so much better what is right and best for me and my kids, I really need to stop and listen and trust. The Lord knows what and when is best.

Pres. Uchtdorf also gave us three daily practices that will help us to succeed in this life.

1. Always hold a current temple recommend

2. Study the word of God daily. Doing this will bring us closer to God. It will also make our homes a place of refuge from the world.

3. Speak with our Father in Heaven. We should let no day pass with out speaking with Him.

There was so much more to his talk, so many more things that touched my heart but I am having a hard time sharing them in such a public forum. One thing I had not remembered until I looked at my notes again to type this, the closing song was "I Stand All Amazed". Perhaps that is why it touched me so strongly this past Sunday?

I am so very much looking forward to General Conference in two weeks. Who knows what great morsels I will be able to glean from those talks.



Indeed.

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Thursday, February 21, 2008

Forest for the trees

Do you ever listen to people talk about all the great things that happen to them and instead of being happy for them you wonder why good things don't happen to you?


Yeah, me too. All the time.



I have a lot of things I wish would happen in my life:

-new house

-major life problem gone

-debt gone

-rich uncle leaves inheritance (oh wait, that happened, but it was a rich aunt and by the time the money was distributed, there wasn't much to go around)

-business picks up

-I have a job that I actually like and pays me what I am worth

- and, and, and



Over the past couple of months none of this has happened for me. However, I am beginning to see that sometimes I get so focused on the whole big forest of my life that I stop seeing the individual trees around me.



Here are some of the individual trees that I have had lately:

-the cost of one of my medications was cut waaaayyy down

-The sun has shone for the last 3 days

-I have a family that loves me

-I have a grandbaby that loves me

-I have a job

-I have friends

-I have an iPod that I didn't have to pay for

-I didn't hit that deer that ran out in front of me on my way to work

There are many more small things that happen on a daily basis that I know I just ignore. I know I have said this before, but I am really going to try and see them more often. And I am going to try and post them more often.