How do I even begin to express my gratitude to my Heavenly Father for the blessings that have been poured out upon my family? My son, Layne, received his mission call to the Chile Santiago East mission. He left September 29, 2010. Our home is feels so very different. I miss him so very much and my heart aches. Yet I can feel the spirit of the Lord in our home. I can feel the peace that comes from seeking to do the Lord's will. Layne is such a big personality as well as a BIG man and we can feel his absence in every facet of our family. The couch still has his body impression embedded upon it where he slept for the last 9 months. I don't think the couch will ever recover! I find myself snuggling down into the sinkhole and smiling remembering how he LOVED to tease me about everything! I do miss that. He is doing well in the MTC and will leave for Chile in about 4 weeks. I am already counting down the time until he returns home!
Our loan modification finally came through. We start our trial payment period today. This last year has been full of tender mercies from our Heavenly Father. I felt His calming influence on the hard days when it looked as if there was no hope of saving our home. I have learned a new level of faith and am so grateful that our adversities have been so minimal. Dan is working and it looks as if the job will last a year.
My sweet Katie is working and while her heart aches to be home with her children she is so very grateful that she is able to provide for them. I have witnessed her quiet faith and determination to follow the will of our Heavenly Father as she has patiently waited for answers to her prayers.
I am so grateful that through the many trials that my children have faced and are still facing that they are turning toward God rather than away from Him. There has been a unifying effort among them to serve each other and to lift each others burdens. They cling to each other in support and love.
I love the scriptures. They never fail me. I can feel the difference in my life when I neglect them. I can feel the difference when I am putting them at the top of my priority list. The spiritual strength I feel is so very tangible as is the lack of that strength. My desire to pray and communicate with my Heavenly Father is directly affected by the effort I put into searching the scriptures. I bear witness that there is strength and peace given to us directly from heaven when we submit ourselves to our Heavenly Father. I bear witness that we can feel this through immersing ourselves in our scriptures and personal prayers. For those of you who feel overwhelmed and don't know where to start I say to you, just start. Just open your scriptures. Just be willing. Doing a little bit will help you be able to do more. I promise you that if you will just make the effort to start that you will feel the desire to continue. Heavenly Father knows our heart and He knows our desire. He will never measure your effort against anyone elses. Your effort is personal between you and the Lord. He accepts any effort that you give to Him. He will never throw it back and say it wasn't enough. So just begin. One verse. One step. He loves us. He wants us to feel His love. He stands ready. This I know.
