A while back, I posted about my Battle With Depression. I felt at the time that this was something that I had under control, or was simply in my past. These last few months have been a continual fight to stay happy, or even melancholy. Just NOT upset, or sad, or angry for no particular reason.
On Friday I took Hubby to the doctor. He has a really bad ear infection, and is getting over an infection from either a Tick bite, or West Nile. So on Saturday, he really didn't feel good. I decided that I was going to get the house clean. Which shouldn't have been too hard, considering I had just cleaned the majority of it for dinner with the missionaries. But the kids had decided that at 1 in the morning, they were going to wake up, and build forts in their room. They woke Hubby and me up, in the process, and I didn't get back to sleep for a while. So I was not in a very happy mood to start the day with anyway. I got up, and started to pick up the kid's room, but got angry with how messy it was (3 kids in one room, isn't easy!), so I moved on to the kitchen. There were dishes that needed to be washed, counters to wipe down, and I still needed to cook that day! My mood just spiraled. I had to take care of the house, the kids, the hubby, and I felt completely drained. I snapped. To put it lightly. I snapped. I was screaming, not just yelling, that things were a mess, but SCREAMING. I eventually excused myself, and laid in bed for a while. I was angry, and I really couldn't understand why.
When I was in Elementary School, I was in a class for gifted learners. It was to help kids that were learning quicker than the other kids not get bored. One of the classes I took was about emotions. We talked about how anger is a secondary emotion. That there is ALWAYS a primary emotion that we cover up with anger. Sometimes we know what that primary emotion is, disappointment, sadness, jealousy, just to name a few. Other times we don't. We hide that primary emotion with anger, and want to protect ourselves from it. It's lame to think back to Elementary School to cope with emotions, but that is what I did on Saturday. I tried to think of that primary emotion. And I could not come up with anything. I took a shower, and got myself ready for the day. Then I did as Hubby suggested and went to the Temple.
I had a 35 minute drive to get to the temple, and by the time I got there, I was too late to do a session, so I decided to do Initiatory's. This would take less time, but I could still be in the temple. While I was there, I felt better. I felt peace. I was serving again. After about an hour I walked out of the temple. But instead of feeling that peace, as soon as I walked out the doors, all of my troubles were back. It was frustrating! I felt all of this turmoil, but I couldn't put words to what or why I was feeling it. I wandered around town for a little bit, before heading home to make dinner, and step back into my life.
While I was driving, I talked to Hubby on the phone. I just dumped on him. Yup, I unloaded my burdens onto him. What it came down to was this: I am not enough. I'm not enough to take care of EVERYTHING (even though I don't take care of everything, obviously, because Hubby was sick, and I just walked out of the house for the afternoon, with no plans on when I would come back, and he was fine with it). I'm not enough to figure out lunch and dinner everyday, and make it, and clean up after it. I am not enough to keep the kids happy everyday, and come up with fun things for them to do EVERYDAY, like you see on Pinterest. I'm not enough to take care of Hubby when he is sick. I am not enough to take care of myself. I am not enough.
Hubby kept telling me that I am enough. That I am more than enough to him. More than enough to the kids. The next sentence that came out of my mouth was more telling of where I have been at mentally than any other.
If when I look in the mirror, or inside myself, I am not enough for me, how can I be enough for anyone else?
Our conversation ended abruptly when a light bulb was knocked over, and shattered on the floor, and I was left with my own thoughts the rest of the drive. I am not going to lie, I thought at the time about just running away (how childish, right?), I thought about not going home. About how they would be better if I wasn't there screaming at them all the time. But as soon as those thoughts entered my mind, I had another very distinct thought come to my mind. "Ciera, who's idea of "Enough" are you thinking of?" I had to think about that for a little while. What definition was I following? What was I judging myself based on? Pinterest? Perfection? Facebook? My own? I was judging myself based on everyone else's best. I was taking the worst parts of myself and lining them up with the best of others.
I didn't measure up to that. I couldn't! No one could! Another thought came to my mind, "I made you, and you are ENOUGH to me!" God made me. He created me. He wouldn't make something less than enough.
When I dealt with Depression before, I knew people. I could go out of my way to help those around me. Now I don't know people. I don't know where needs are. I am trying to serve others, but it is difficult right now. I am not in the same situation as before.
I decided Sunday morning, as I woke up that I was going to be happy. I was going to choose how I wanted to feel. Hubby was still sick, the kids still needed me, the kitchen still needed to be finished being cleaned. But I was going to be HAPPY!
Choices are funny that way. While anger is a secondary emotion, that we don't always consciously chose, but continually use to hide our true emotions. Happiness is an emotion that we sometimes have to CHOOSE to feel to help us accept who and what we are.
My continuous fight, is making that choice. Choosing to be happy. Choosing to feel ENOUGH, and maybe one day, I won't have to choose anymore. I'll truly believe it.
Monday, July 21, 2014
Thursday, July 17, 2014
"The Days"
Dinnertime around here is my favorite time! It's a time that I really look forward to, because we all get to be together. Since Hubby got his new job, there have only been a few times that we haven't had dinner as a family, which wasn't the case with his former positions.
There have been studies that say sitting down to eat dinner together as a family at least 3 times a week lowers the chances that your children will drink alcohol, use drugs, or break most rules. My kids are young, but I want them to know that we care about them. That no matter how busy our day is, we are willing to listen to them, and they are the most important part of our lives. Raising kids is stressful. It's hard, and it seems unending (someone please tell me it gets at least a little easier)! There are so many things that parents need to teach their children. Things that are easier, like tying shoe laces (not easy to teach when your 5 year old doesn't want to pay attention), reading, writing, numbers, and colors. Then there are things that seem to the world to be harder. I say this, because so many kids are not being taught these things. The Golden Rule, clean up after yourself, say please and thank you, inside voice vs outside voice, helping others, helping yourself, and be responsible. I believe that we are all born good. After all we are created in the "likeness and image" of God! God MAKES us good, and our parents (grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, family members, guardians, etc) RAISE us to BE good!
This is why dinnertime is so special to me. See we have a little question and answer time that have with our kids. Someone gets to start "The Days" as my kids call it. Usually one of the kids asks us if they can start, and it goes something like this:
Little Man: "Tiny, how was your DAY?"
Tiny: "Good!" (Or if the answer is bad, we ask why, and how we can make tomorrow better)(They can answer anything they want, long, crazy, boring, fun, etc)
Little Man: "What was your FAVORITE part?"
Tiny: "Dad coming home!" (This is usually their answer, but they can again answer anything they want. Last night the missionaries ate with us, and Baby Girl said her favorite part of the day was having them over. Tiny will sometimes tell us that it is "This amazing meal!")
Little Man: "What are you THANKFUL for?"
Tiny: "My Mommy!" (We ask the kids to come up with something different than what they said the day before, so we get some interesting ones! Once it was the dinner table!)
Little Man: How did you HELP someone today?
Tiny: I helped Mommy pick up the clothes and put them in the laundry. (This one is harder, but since we added this question, I see my kids looking for ways to help people, because they know they are going to have to tell us about it at dinner!)
Little Man: What is one thing you LIKE about YOURSELF?
Tiny: I like my smile. (Last night it was his flips, Little Man liked that he can run fast, and Baby Girl likes her face!)
After Little Man finishes asking Tiny, Tiny gets to ask someone else. Everyone gets a chance to talk to everyone else. Sometimes things they say can lead to a story, like what led up to them helping someone, or why they like a particular thing about themselves. We like to add things to what they say too, and we tell them about our day as well. Our kids get ready for bed after dinner, and go to sleep soon after, so it is helpful for them to focus on all the good things that happened in their day, but have a chance to talk about things that maybe weren't so good.
Before school got out, Little Man would often tell us part of his day was bad, but the rest was good. We would talk about what made his day bad, and it was usually something to do with someone at school not sharing, or not wanting to play a certain game, and then we would talk about how to make the next day better. He would feel important because we talked to him, and treated him like he was responsible and smart, and we would feel like he trusted us enough to open up to us about what may seem like a small problem now, but in his eyes was big and affected his whole day. Hopefully as time goes on, he still shares things like this with us!
When we are visiting family, or like last night, when someone is visiting us, we still ask about "The Days". One of the kids start, and they usually ask a guest or someone that doesn't live with us. The first time someone hears the questions, they are always taken by surprise. They always get a shocked look on their face, and usually laugh and say things like, "Wow! These are tough questions!" Or, "I really have to think about this one!" The kids all have the questions memorized and will not just ask the questions, but they will listen and respond to the answers. Asking questions, and being genuinely interested in the answers given. It is amazing to watch Baby Girl at 3 years old have a relatively grown up conversation with someone she doesn't know.
While we are just asking "The Days" to our kids, we are teaching them a few important lessons. We are teaching them that they need to be interested in the world around them. Be considerate of others, and when you talk to them, look them in the eye, give them your full attention, listen, and respond. We are teaching them to be thankful for unique things that they have been blessed with. Since they cannot just say the same thing everyday, they come up with things that Hubby and I wouldn't normally think of (i.e. the dinner table). We are teaching them to look for opportunities to serve. We don't ask them how they helped someone to let them boast about how awesome they are (even though they are awesome!), but to have them learn to see when others need help and offer it without being asked. We are teaching them to love themselves! This is something that is important in today's world, because there are so many things and people that say, "You aren't good enough." "You don't measure up." "You need to change this and this and this about yourself." But we are teaching our kids to love themselves as they are. GOD MADE THEM GOOD!
Every once in a while we will add to the question list. Little Man has contributed a few times. Asking these questions sometimes makes our dinnertime long. Sometimes our food gets cold while we are asking or answering questions. Sometimes everyone is done eating before we've all had a chance to talk about our day. Sometimes dinner is really short, because no one has much to say. Our kids look forward to it just as much as I do. They like to be involved in our family life. They like that they get to talk with the grown ups. I like that I get to talk with them. I like that we all get to focus on the good in our lives. We all get to focus on serving. We get to focus on our family!
What would happen if everyone sat down to dinner as a family just 3 times a week, and had open conversations like this? Maybe family dinner wouldn't be an anomaly, it would be the norm!
There have been studies that say sitting down to eat dinner together as a family at least 3 times a week lowers the chances that your children will drink alcohol, use drugs, or break most rules. My kids are young, but I want them to know that we care about them. That no matter how busy our day is, we are willing to listen to them, and they are the most important part of our lives. Raising kids is stressful. It's hard, and it seems unending (someone please tell me it gets at least a little easier)! There are so many things that parents need to teach their children. Things that are easier, like tying shoe laces (not easy to teach when your 5 year old doesn't want to pay attention), reading, writing, numbers, and colors. Then there are things that seem to the world to be harder. I say this, because so many kids are not being taught these things. The Golden Rule, clean up after yourself, say please and thank you, inside voice vs outside voice, helping others, helping yourself, and be responsible. I believe that we are all born good. After all we are created in the "likeness and image" of God! God MAKES us good, and our parents (grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, family members, guardians, etc) RAISE us to BE good!
This is why dinnertime is so special to me. See we have a little question and answer time that have with our kids. Someone gets to start "The Days" as my kids call it. Usually one of the kids asks us if they can start, and it goes something like this:
Little Man: "Tiny, how was your DAY?"
Tiny: "Good!" (Or if the answer is bad, we ask why, and how we can make tomorrow better)(They can answer anything they want, long, crazy, boring, fun, etc)
Little Man: "What was your FAVORITE part?"
Tiny: "Dad coming home!" (This is usually their answer, but they can again answer anything they want. Last night the missionaries ate with us, and Baby Girl said her favorite part of the day was having them over. Tiny will sometimes tell us that it is "This amazing meal!")
Little Man: "What are you THANKFUL for?"
Tiny: "My Mommy!" (We ask the kids to come up with something different than what they said the day before, so we get some interesting ones! Once it was the dinner table!)
Little Man: How did you HELP someone today?
Tiny: I helped Mommy pick up the clothes and put them in the laundry. (This one is harder, but since we added this question, I see my kids looking for ways to help people, because they know they are going to have to tell us about it at dinner!)
Little Man: What is one thing you LIKE about YOURSELF?
Tiny: I like my smile. (Last night it was his flips, Little Man liked that he can run fast, and Baby Girl likes her face!)
After Little Man finishes asking Tiny, Tiny gets to ask someone else. Everyone gets a chance to talk to everyone else. Sometimes things they say can lead to a story, like what led up to them helping someone, or why they like a particular thing about themselves. We like to add things to what they say too, and we tell them about our day as well. Our kids get ready for bed after dinner, and go to sleep soon after, so it is helpful for them to focus on all the good things that happened in their day, but have a chance to talk about things that maybe weren't so good.
Before school got out, Little Man would often tell us part of his day was bad, but the rest was good. We would talk about what made his day bad, and it was usually something to do with someone at school not sharing, or not wanting to play a certain game, and then we would talk about how to make the next day better. He would feel important because we talked to him, and treated him like he was responsible and smart, and we would feel like he trusted us enough to open up to us about what may seem like a small problem now, but in his eyes was big and affected his whole day. Hopefully as time goes on, he still shares things like this with us!
When we are visiting family, or like last night, when someone is visiting us, we still ask about "The Days". One of the kids start, and they usually ask a guest or someone that doesn't live with us. The first time someone hears the questions, they are always taken by surprise. They always get a shocked look on their face, and usually laugh and say things like, "Wow! These are tough questions!" Or, "I really have to think about this one!" The kids all have the questions memorized and will not just ask the questions, but they will listen and respond to the answers. Asking questions, and being genuinely interested in the answers given. It is amazing to watch Baby Girl at 3 years old have a relatively grown up conversation with someone she doesn't know.
While we are just asking "The Days" to our kids, we are teaching them a few important lessons. We are teaching them that they need to be interested in the world around them. Be considerate of others, and when you talk to them, look them in the eye, give them your full attention, listen, and respond. We are teaching them to be thankful for unique things that they have been blessed with. Since they cannot just say the same thing everyday, they come up with things that Hubby and I wouldn't normally think of (i.e. the dinner table). We are teaching them to look for opportunities to serve. We don't ask them how they helped someone to let them boast about how awesome they are (even though they are awesome!), but to have them learn to see when others need help and offer it without being asked. We are teaching them to love themselves! This is something that is important in today's world, because there are so many things and people that say, "You aren't good enough." "You don't measure up." "You need to change this and this and this about yourself." But we are teaching our kids to love themselves as they are. GOD MADE THEM GOOD!
Every once in a while we will add to the question list. Little Man has contributed a few times. Asking these questions sometimes makes our dinnertime long. Sometimes our food gets cold while we are asking or answering questions. Sometimes everyone is done eating before we've all had a chance to talk about our day. Sometimes dinner is really short, because no one has much to say. Our kids look forward to it just as much as I do. They like to be involved in our family life. They like that they get to talk with the grown ups. I like that I get to talk with them. I like that we all get to focus on the good in our lives. We all get to focus on serving. We get to focus on our family!
What would happen if everyone sat down to dinner as a family just 3 times a week, and had open conversations like this? Maybe family dinner wouldn't be an anomaly, it would be the norm!
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Can I be an Angel?
I wrote a while ago that I had a doozy of a story for you, and today is the day I am going to share it with you! Are you ready? Get yourself a drink, settle in for a story worthy of the "big screen"!
Sometimes we need Angels in our lives, but this is a story when my husband got to BE an Angel for someone else. Our church has what we call General Conference. This is when all of the leaders of our religion gather together, and speak to the rest of the church. There are 4 General Sessions, one on Saturday morning from 10:00-12:00, Saturday Afternoon from 2:00-4:00, Sunday Morning from 10:00-12:00, and Sunday Afternoon from 2:00-4:00. Then there is the General Women's Meeting, which is the Saturday BEFORE the other General Sessions from 6:00-7:30, and General Priesthood Meeting on Saturday night, after the other sessions from 6:00-8:00. It is a lot! We watch on TV, listen on the Radio, sometimes we go to our church buildings and watch it, and sometimes are able to travel to SLC, UT and listen in the Conference Center, or on Temple Square at one of the small theaters that stream the Conference live. It seems like a HUGE commitment, but in all honesty, it's not! I love to hear from my spiritual leaders, especially from the Living Prophet, Thomas S Monson, his 2 Counselors, and the Quorum of the 12 Apostles (learn more about my religion here). Many people, my family included, like to have a special night during the Priesthood Session, the men attend the meeting, while the women and children have a night out, or spend time together at home. Hubby likes to attend Priesthood meeting with his father, so when that time came around a few years ago, I sent him up to his parents house alone. I spent time with the kids, and enjoyed time by myself.
The drive to Hubby's parent's house was about 2 hours. I sent him out the door, with plenty of time to get here and attend Priesthood Session. He called every half hour or so, until he didn't. I was expecting his call, and it didn't come. I knew that he wasn't at his parent's house yet. He still had at least 45 minutes to go. I tried to call him, and he didn't answer. I started to get worried. I kept calling him, every couple of minutes, until finally he called me back. He was upset, and was talking very quickly. I got him to calm down, and this is the story he told me:
He was driving towards his parent's house, and about 45 minutes away, when he came up to an off ramp. It wasn't a very used off-ramp, because it is in a rural location, and he wasn't planning on taking the exit. As he got closer to the exit, he felt stronger and stronger like he should stop, until he finally HEARD, "PULL OFF THE ROAD! TAKE THE EXIT!" He couldn't ignore the feeling or the voice, so he took the exit. This particular exit makes almost a complete circle to get off the freeway, and onto the connecting road. The connecting road crosses OVER the freeway, so the ramp angles upward. From the direction Hubby was driving, he could not see the entire off-ramp, but as he drove on the ramp, he saw a small black plume of smoke, and a cement barrier was missing. He immediately stopped his car. As he got closer to the edge of the road, he could see a car upside down at the bottom of the hill. He ran down the hill, and found a young girl, about 17, inside the upside down vehicle. She was unconscious and bleeding heavily. The car was smoking from somewhere, and even though he had been told to never move someone who has been in an accident, Hubby knew he had to get her out of the car. Luckily, someone else had been taking the same exit, and watched as Hubby ran down the hill, and pulled over to see what was going on. This man helped Hubby get the girl out of her car, and laying flat on the ground, both being careful to move her head and neck as little as possible. They could see that the girl was hurt very badly, and since Hubby has had CNA training, he started treating her cuts and abrasions the best he could, while the man called 911. Hubby found a large cut underneath the girl's arm, and when he turned to show the man, he was handed a shirt. The man had seen the cut at the same time, and taken off his shirt to help. They had the bleeding mostly stopped by the time the ambulance arrived, and took her to the hospital. Hubby called the girl's parents while they were waiting for the ambulance, and found out that she was LDS, just like we are. Her parent's asked Hubby to give her a Priesthood Blessing, and Hubby told them he would. He gently laid his hands on her head, and gave her a silent blessing, since the paramedics were there, and he didn't want to interrupt them. He ended his blessing, just as the paramedics took her to the ambulance. Hubby had a short time to talk to the girl before the paramedics arrived, and told her about our kids, and tried to keep her mind off of her pain. He was covered in her blood by the time she left, and was too shaken to drive for a short time. After the ambulance left, Hubby and the man that stopped to help him, talked a little. The man asked Hubby what he was doing when he put his hands on the girl's head. Hubby explained Priesthood Blessings, and the man said that he felt so calm, during the blessing, and that even though it was hectic all around them, he could feel peace. Hubby told him that he felt it too. The two parted ways, and Hubby called me. He drove to his parent's house, and attended Priesthood Meeting. The next day, he called the girl's parents again, and asked how their daughter was doing. They told him she was doing well, but had a crushed pelvis, a broken Femur in 2 places, broken ribs, as well as the gash that had been bleeding so heavily. They thanked him for helping her, and promised to have her call him, but she never did.
A few weeks went by, and Hubby took the kids up to visit his parents while I worked. He pulled off of the freeway to get gas, and happened to see the girl's parents. They told him that she had JUST been released from the Hospital, and had been asking how to get in touch with him. He was able to talk to her again, to give her a hug, and introduce her to our kids. Then she thanked him. She thanked him for giving her a blessing. She told him that it was a beautiful blessing, and she knew that she was going to be okay after hearing it. Hubby told her that he didn't say a word out loud, but she told him specific things that he had said in his mind. She had a long road to recovery, was in a cast that covered her leg from her foot, up to her chest, and was still healing. She knew from his blessing that she was going to be okay though. She had been driving to a party that she wasn't supposed to go to, snuck out of her parent's house, taken their car, and gotten into an accident, that could have taken her life. She told him that she was changing her life. She wasn't going to see those people anymore. She was going to start living the Gospel again.
Hubby received a powerful example of why it is important to always live worthy of the sacred Priesthood that he holds. He was able to help someone because of it. Maybe this story isn't worthy of the big screen in your eyes. Maybe it isn't very important to you. But to our family, it is. It is worthy of the big screen. It is a doozy. It was a turning point for that young girl's life, and it was a reminder for ours.
Living the Gospel may seem like a lot. 3 Hours of church every Sunday, callings that take time away from our families, service, General Conference that takes up an entire weekend, 10% of all of the money we earn we donate to the Church, Fast Offerings (money that we pay to the Church to help those in need), fasting, scripture study, prayer, no drinking, no smoking, no coffee, no tea. The list seems long and never ending, BUT the benefits out weigh the cost. The blessings are UNCOUNTABLE! The chances to help others are undeniable.
Sometimes we need angels, and sometimes we get to be someone else's angel. This was Hubby's chance to be an angel, and because he was living according to Gospel Principle's he was blessed with the opportunity!
Sometimes we need Angels in our lives, but this is a story when my husband got to BE an Angel for someone else. Our church has what we call General Conference. This is when all of the leaders of our religion gather together, and speak to the rest of the church. There are 4 General Sessions, one on Saturday morning from 10:00-12:00, Saturday Afternoon from 2:00-4:00, Sunday Morning from 10:00-12:00, and Sunday Afternoon from 2:00-4:00. Then there is the General Women's Meeting, which is the Saturday BEFORE the other General Sessions from 6:00-7:30, and General Priesthood Meeting on Saturday night, after the other sessions from 6:00-8:00. It is a lot! We watch on TV, listen on the Radio, sometimes we go to our church buildings and watch it, and sometimes are able to travel to SLC, UT and listen in the Conference Center, or on Temple Square at one of the small theaters that stream the Conference live. It seems like a HUGE commitment, but in all honesty, it's not! I love to hear from my spiritual leaders, especially from the Living Prophet, Thomas S Monson, his 2 Counselors, and the Quorum of the 12 Apostles (learn more about my religion here). Many people, my family included, like to have a special night during the Priesthood Session, the men attend the meeting, while the women and children have a night out, or spend time together at home. Hubby likes to attend Priesthood meeting with his father, so when that time came around a few years ago, I sent him up to his parents house alone. I spent time with the kids, and enjoyed time by myself.
The drive to Hubby's parent's house was about 2 hours. I sent him out the door, with plenty of time to get here and attend Priesthood Session. He called every half hour or so, until he didn't. I was expecting his call, and it didn't come. I knew that he wasn't at his parent's house yet. He still had at least 45 minutes to go. I tried to call him, and he didn't answer. I started to get worried. I kept calling him, every couple of minutes, until finally he called me back. He was upset, and was talking very quickly. I got him to calm down, and this is the story he told me:
He was driving towards his parent's house, and about 45 minutes away, when he came up to an off ramp. It wasn't a very used off-ramp, because it is in a rural location, and he wasn't planning on taking the exit. As he got closer to the exit, he felt stronger and stronger like he should stop, until he finally HEARD, "PULL OFF THE ROAD! TAKE THE EXIT!" He couldn't ignore the feeling or the voice, so he took the exit. This particular exit makes almost a complete circle to get off the freeway, and onto the connecting road. The connecting road crosses OVER the freeway, so the ramp angles upward. From the direction Hubby was driving, he could not see the entire off-ramp, but as he drove on the ramp, he saw a small black plume of smoke, and a cement barrier was missing. He immediately stopped his car. As he got closer to the edge of the road, he could see a car upside down at the bottom of the hill. He ran down the hill, and found a young girl, about 17, inside the upside down vehicle. She was unconscious and bleeding heavily. The car was smoking from somewhere, and even though he had been told to never move someone who has been in an accident, Hubby knew he had to get her out of the car. Luckily, someone else had been taking the same exit, and watched as Hubby ran down the hill, and pulled over to see what was going on. This man helped Hubby get the girl out of her car, and laying flat on the ground, both being careful to move her head and neck as little as possible. They could see that the girl was hurt very badly, and since Hubby has had CNA training, he started treating her cuts and abrasions the best he could, while the man called 911. Hubby found a large cut underneath the girl's arm, and when he turned to show the man, he was handed a shirt. The man had seen the cut at the same time, and taken off his shirt to help. They had the bleeding mostly stopped by the time the ambulance arrived, and took her to the hospital. Hubby called the girl's parents while they were waiting for the ambulance, and found out that she was LDS, just like we are. Her parent's asked Hubby to give her a Priesthood Blessing, and Hubby told them he would. He gently laid his hands on her head, and gave her a silent blessing, since the paramedics were there, and he didn't want to interrupt them. He ended his blessing, just as the paramedics took her to the ambulance. Hubby had a short time to talk to the girl before the paramedics arrived, and told her about our kids, and tried to keep her mind off of her pain. He was covered in her blood by the time she left, and was too shaken to drive for a short time. After the ambulance left, Hubby and the man that stopped to help him, talked a little. The man asked Hubby what he was doing when he put his hands on the girl's head. Hubby explained Priesthood Blessings, and the man said that he felt so calm, during the blessing, and that even though it was hectic all around them, he could feel peace. Hubby told him that he felt it too. The two parted ways, and Hubby called me. He drove to his parent's house, and attended Priesthood Meeting. The next day, he called the girl's parents again, and asked how their daughter was doing. They told him she was doing well, but had a crushed pelvis, a broken Femur in 2 places, broken ribs, as well as the gash that had been bleeding so heavily. They thanked him for helping her, and promised to have her call him, but she never did.
A few weeks went by, and Hubby took the kids up to visit his parents while I worked. He pulled off of the freeway to get gas, and happened to see the girl's parents. They told him that she had JUST been released from the Hospital, and had been asking how to get in touch with him. He was able to talk to her again, to give her a hug, and introduce her to our kids. Then she thanked him. She thanked him for giving her a blessing. She told him that it was a beautiful blessing, and she knew that she was going to be okay after hearing it. Hubby told her that he didn't say a word out loud, but she told him specific things that he had said in his mind. She had a long road to recovery, was in a cast that covered her leg from her foot, up to her chest, and was still healing. She knew from his blessing that she was going to be okay though. She had been driving to a party that she wasn't supposed to go to, snuck out of her parent's house, taken their car, and gotten into an accident, that could have taken her life. She told him that she was changing her life. She wasn't going to see those people anymore. She was going to start living the Gospel again.
Hubby received a powerful example of why it is important to always live worthy of the sacred Priesthood that he holds. He was able to help someone because of it. Maybe this story isn't worthy of the big screen in your eyes. Maybe it isn't very important to you. But to our family, it is. It is worthy of the big screen. It is a doozy. It was a turning point for that young girl's life, and it was a reminder for ours.
Living the Gospel may seem like a lot. 3 Hours of church every Sunday, callings that take time away from our families, service, General Conference that takes up an entire weekend, 10% of all of the money we earn we donate to the Church, Fast Offerings (money that we pay to the Church to help those in need), fasting, scripture study, prayer, no drinking, no smoking, no coffee, no tea. The list seems long and never ending, BUT the benefits out weigh the cost. The blessings are UNCOUNTABLE! The chances to help others are undeniable.
Sometimes we need angels, and sometimes we get to be someone else's angel. This was Hubby's chance to be an angel, and because he was living according to Gospel Principle's he was blessed with the opportunity!
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