Today I'm feeling very humbled and once again overcome with life's situations. Earlier today I received a phone call from a friend in my ward telling me about another family's situation. Last night, the mother went into labor at 24 weeks, and the baby girl is on a ventilator in the neonatal unit of the hospital. This sister is at the same hospital where I had Jackson, and so I'm quite familiar with their scenario. (On a side note, she's also staying in the room where I was when I had Clarissa.) When I heard the news, I felt a strong sense of urgency to get a hold of the family and visit them TONIGHT. Thankfully, Matt felt the same way and we headed to the hospital after dinner and dropped Jackson off at my brother's.
Visiting this family and sharing some of the burden and feelings made me realize that we never know when our life's experiences will help another. I know that this journey is going to be long and hard for this family; and in some ways it will be very much the same as ours, and in others it will be very different. Each life's story has a different tale to tell. The one thing I do know is that the Lord is the Master of each journey if we allow him. He will pick us up when we fall and guide us back to where we need to go. Some days he lets us walk in complete faith, testing us to see if we will follow our first answer without knowing where the second path lies.
I think the motto of our family is to have faith in the Lord. I have a hard time when others tell me to be realistic and that "this is just not going to happen." I have learned to look at a realistic outcome and yet have faith that the Lord will work things out if we follow the promptings and guidance we receive. Right now my strongest faith is in our adoption process and how it will all turn out. Despite people telling me that "it's not going to happen" in specific cases, I have seen miracles happen in my life.
My question to you is what miracles have you seen happen in your life because of your faith or how have you been able to help someone else because of your experiences?
Two of my miracles came in ways I least expected. It is hard to struggle with fertility issues and not understand why. Our two youngest came to our family in a way I never would have expected and completely in the Lord's time. Funny, he totally knows what he is doing...
ReplyDeleteYou will adopt. It will be the baby meant for you and Matt to raise. It will happen when the time is right and you will even think, "I am so glad it didn't happen sooner" because for whatever reason, your next baby has a certain arrival time. In our situation, we had to wait for Aragorn to be born so he could save Eomer.
Alta, your story of your boys has been such a strength to me from the time I first heard it from Leah. And I LOVE your boys -- all three of them. They always make me smile and laugh, yes, even when they're testing your limits.
ReplyDeleteI know we can help others, and others can help us with specific trial we go through. You can't truly empathize unless you have gone through it yourself. I'm sure that family was thankful for your visit.
ReplyDeleteI believe in miracles! Samantha having the courage to place Zeke with us was a true miracle I have witnessed.
LeMira, your thoughts about staying realistic and yet being optimistic remind me of president Hinckley--he often said exactly that; he was a realist and an optimist.
ReplyDeleteI've felt the same as you about helping others with experiences--this has happened to me a lot with depression; I've had some pretty awful depression at times, and I've been able to be there for others and understand what they're going through. Just telling someone that I've felt that same way has been so reassuring for others, to know that they're not alone or that they're not crazy! It's been such a blessing in that way.