Sunday, May 13, 2018

Mother's Day with Mr. T and the Crazies Also: A picture of My Mother with a Bird on her Head for Added Interest

Mr. T (yes THAT Mr. T) put out a Mother's Day Rap back in the 80s (youtube) that my kids found a couple of years ago. Since then, they have quoted portions of it THREE different times over the pulpit at church (seriously) and they break into spontaneous, "Mother! There is no other! Mother! So treat her right."
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I pity the fool!
So Mother's day is usually a day of mixed emotions (to put it nicely), but THIS one was the best! First of all, I didn't have to endure a gut-wrenching skype call from a struggling missionary. Oh, I dreaded that! Instead I got to hug her and see her and listen to her report her mission. So happy she's home.

Also, I had all my babies at home at once all day! AND, surprise! My 12 year old also spoke in church today, and she was hilarious and sweet, without glorifying (which I hate). In short, I haven't killed anyone yet, so I'm probably doing OK. Also, an allowance might motivate her.

This is the same 12 year old who possibly broke her wrist yesterday playing basketball with her brothers.

AND, LOOK! They all wore Mr. T t-shirts to commemorate the day, which was PERFECT!

My 17 year old son sweetly bought me chocolate and a card, and just about every child did or said something thoughtful today.

Don't get me wrong--one of the heathens ate the chocolate they gave me at church, and someone else asked me to quick wash her shirt so she could wear it again tomorrow...
Little K at her Ice Skating Party Yesterday
It was a crazy day of 10 year old birthday (Little K), dogs and rabbits and squeak toys, friends, family, food, sugar and then more sugar. I'm thankful for the exhausting, crazy pile of family God blessed me with.

I'm thankful to be a mother.

Also, glad to have one! (I come by it honestly.)

Monday, April 23, 2018

The Lord Wants Me to Rest

My sweet little Mayli has been really struggling with depression on her mission, and they've just diagnosed her with hypothyroidism.  Her diagnosis has sealed the deal; she has to come home, as the medicine for this is not available in her area of the Philippines.  This is a huge relief to me, as she seems to have hit a breaking point and is still trudging faithfully along.  I've really worried about her safety.

Her mission blog post this week has the same title as this one, and she has gained some insights from her new companion (who's struggling with health problems, too) who often says, "The Lord wants me to rest, now" when she isn't feeling well and needs to stop and rest a while.  Such amazing wisdom.

The Lord wants me to rest.

I've been exhausted.  For a really long time.  I haven't recovered from my surgery last October.  My plantar fasciitis and heel spurs on my left foot ache quite a bit.  I often feel that I've got a migraine hovering over me.   And I sometimes have a rough time settling my brain at night.  I have legitimate worries about my children.

When I pray about it, the Lord puts the same words in my mind, over and over.  "When you're fully rested, your foot will be healed."

I have to be honest, I've been sleeping a lot.  And when I get enough sleep, sure enough, my heel stops hurting.  So then I push myself to exercise or get stuff done around the house, and I overdo it, and then it hurts again.  Slow learner.

The Lord wants me to rest.

I've been feeling guilty for sleeping, but the Lord keeps telling me that it's a time to rest.  Logically I feel that I shouldn't be setting this example of sloth, but then the Spirit whispers, "not sloth, rest." I don't want my kids to remember me as the lazy Mom in bed all the time.  But I'm not lazy, I'm exhausted.  My body is a blessing, and I need to take care of it.  I've pushed it to the limit for a really long time, and it needs a break.  When I'm well rested, I have more wisdom and patience.  I'm a better mother, my head is clear.

So Mayli's sweet e-mail reminded me the lesson the Lord has been trying to hammer into my skull.  Sometimes the Lord wants us to rest.  Times and seasons.

One more thought.  A few years ago, I had a dream.  The only person I told about it was my mother, and I'm really glad that I did, because I don't think I wrote it down, and I forgot about it until she reminded me of if a couple of weeks ago.

I dreamed that Mayli was receiving a Patriarchal blessing.  As the Patriarch spoke of things to come, worldly troubles and personal ones, he stopped and said, "And if things get too hard for you, you can come home."

Sometimes the Lord uses dreams to help me remember that I need to be willing to align myself with His will.  I thought the dream was telling me that at some point in Mayli's life the world would become too evil, or that her situation would be too much for her and she would be released and taken home to Him.  She was His first, and is just on loan to me.  The dream helped me to get my priorities a little straighter, and to feel grateful again that families are forever, and that no matter what, I'll be with her again.

I shared my dream with Mayli's mission president's wife as we sent short instant messages back and forth--my mom reminded me of it, and said that maybe the dream had a different meaning than I originally gave it.  Maybe it meant that Mayli needed to know that coming home would be a totally acceptable option to the Lord.  I urged her (the mission president's wife) to make coming home an option, so that Mayli would know that she had a lot of choices.  I've found that when someone is severely depressed AND feels that there are no options left, that's when suicide becomes the only option that they can see.

Keeping commitments, being obedient, working hard, going the extra mile:  these are really important virtues.

But sometimes the Lord wants us to rest.

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Friends

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A dear friend of mine passed away this weekend.  I've been blessed to know her for over 25 years, and most of that time she's battled cancer. 

As I prayed for her family today, and thanked God for her valiant life of service and love, I thought of other friends and family members who have similarly blessed my life.  I was flooded with joy and gratitude for all the astounding Daughters of God that I've been privileged to know. 
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Women in the trenches of motherhood, doing a million small things each day to bless those around them.  Women fighting evil, abuse and trauma.  
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Behind-the-scenes sisters making their homes places of sanctuary and peace.  
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Roaring-Mama-Bear ladies acting as advocates for those they love. Girls who do hard things. Patient, grateful elderly who encourage with wisdom. 
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Those of every age in every circumstance who kneel down humbly and then rise to serve.   Again and again and again.

Image result for woman nurture clipartWomen who nurture other's children, who serve in the community, who show up when there's a need. 
Covenant keeping, good-news-of-the-gospel testifying, charity-filled comforting women. So many faithful, good women!  

I feel so blessed! 

Sometimes the world seems to be chaotic, explosive, evil, falling apart.  But I know that there is an army of Christlike people fighting quietly behind the scenes. Preparing for His return.  

Others who believe quite differently, also making the world a better place.  Thank you, my dear friends for the lives you're living. You are my heroes.

*I started to add real photos and realized that there were too many.  For the same reason, I can't add names either!  What a great problem to have.