Angels Among Us

Lately, I have been contemplating the role of angels in our lives.  I have always believed that the veil between us and those who have passed on is very thin and that sometimes they are allowed to attend to our needs.  In fact, whenever I hear someone talk about their "guardian angel," I think of my Grandma Jennie.  I believe that when God sends us angels, he sends us angels who know us well and therefore can help meet our needs.  I have never seen one of my ancestors who has passed on, but I have felt a familiar presence that can be explained in no other way than to say that one or more of them have been by my side on occasion.  I love the following promise found in the Doctrine and Covenants 84:88:  ...I will go before your face.  I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my spirit shall be in your hearts and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.  

This scripture ties in with a story from the Old Testament that has always brought me peace.  It is found in 2 Kings 6.  The King of Syria has sent his horses and chariots to surround Elisha the prophet.  His servant sees this and is struck with fear: And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? (verse 15)  

Elisha's response is miraculous:  And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.  And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha (verses 16-17). 

I think that if our spiritual eyes were allowed to be opened for a few moments, we would be amazed and humbled by what we see.  I believe we would see evidence of God's love for us in the form of heavenly protectors around us.  

When my children were babies, I know they spoke an angelic language to those on the other side.  I would catch them focusing intently at empty space and carrying on excitedly--sometimes even laughing gleefully.  I remember feeling something different in the room during those precious moments.  I knew that I was not the only one watching over my child.  What comfort that was to me!  I remember one of my children sitting on my hip, pointing at a picture of the Savior and exclaiming, "Jesu!"  Up to that point, I hadn't even taught her about Jesus, and she had never said anything coherent--she was still too young.  It was a beautiful reminder that my sweet baby recognized people whose presence she had recently left and would certainly recognize them when they came to visit her from time to time.  

One particular experience that has remained vivid in my fading memory occurred shortly after the passing of a dear friend.  His wife was still grieving the passing of her teenage son, only to have her husband die a few short years later of cancer.  My two youngest children loved this couple and they loved my kids.  They would often watch them for my husband and I.  Emily, my youngest, especially loved my friend's husband.  She was still a baby when when he died.  I was visiting my friend shortly after her husband's passing, and Em was in my arms.  My friend was having an especially difficult day, dealing with all of the financial ramifications that come when someone dies.  As I was talking to her in her kitchen, Em started getting excited about something.  She stared down the hall towards the door that led to the garage intently and started babbling to  someone.  The feeling in the room noticeably changed.  Both my friend and I could feel it.  Suddenly, the chime that only sounded when the door going out to the garage was opened or closed went off.  We could see the door, and it had neither opened nor closed.  Emily immediately calmed down and stopped talking.  My friend and I had no doubt that her husband had been there.  We felt his presence come and go.  God knew that she needed a comforting witness that her husband was watching over her.  

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, I testify of angels, both the heavenly and the mortal kind. In doing so I am testifying that God never leaves us alone, never leaves us unaided in the challenges that we face. “[N]or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man [or woman or child] upon the face thereof to be saved” (Book of Mormon, Moroni 7:35-37).  On occasions, global or personal, we may feel we are distanced from God, shut out from heaven, lost, alone in dark and dreary places. Often enough, that distress can be of our own making, but even then the Father of us all is watching and assisting. And always there are those angels who come and go all around us, seen and unseen, known and unknown, mortal and immortal (October 2008 LDS General Conference, The Ministry of Angels).

When I speak of angels, I also think of the earthly angels that God has sent and continues to send to me.  I think of a visiting teacher who became a dear friend after serving my family for a long three-month period while I lay in bed during my third pregnancy--taking care of my two small children and hers as well, leaving her house to clean mine.  I think of my niece Charlee who passed away at age 6 of a debilitating illness, but taught me so much about cherishing the moments of life that are often taken for granted.  I think of my children, who are also my teachers.  They have lifted me to heights that I could never have achieved without them.  I think of a husband who loves me in spite of me.  

I think of two grandchildren who teach me lessons each week about enjoying the little things in life and who distract me from the world and give me spiritual eyes to see what God wants me to see.  The other day my 3-year-old grandson saw a city train (he loves trains) and said, "Tomorrow I am going to ride the train by myself."  I asked him how he would know where to get off and he said, "I will get off at the temple."  Now, I know this may seem trite and cute to anyone reading this, but he loves the temple.  The Utah valley is full of these beautiful buildings and he loves visiting as many as he can, but specifically, the Salt Lake Temple.  His papa (Grandpa) has taken him there many times on the train, so he knows right where it is.  His conviction about knowing where he was going by looking for the temple was an angelic witness to me about the power that the temple has to draw us away from the tugs and pulls of the world and give us the direction we need.  I will treasure that experience as a message from an angel.

I think of young 18 to 20-year-old young men and women who give up 18-24 months of their lives to serve God on church missions and become ministering angels to His children.  They are lifted on the wings of their own angels as they courageously go in faith.  

I also think of angel friends who text me that they are thinking about me without even knowing that I needed their kind words to lighten the load of a heavy day. I think of unknown angels who left money and gifts when my parents were dealing with the financial and emotional strain of having a child with brain cancer.  

But the angels who have held up the sometimes crumbling foundations of my life the most have been my angel mother and father.  Words cannot express what their live-saving love has done for me.  

To end, I would say there is ample evidence in my life to prove the existence of angels, but it is my faith and God's grace which offer me the chance to claim and ask for their blessings and influence.  I believe it is good for us to ask God to send angels to strengthen our families. It is comforting to know that they are there for us as we are exhausting our own best efforts.  Ask for angels and God will send them. 

Click on the following links related to angels:

Angels In Disguise

Angels are God's Emissaries

The Ministry of Angels by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

A Few of My Many Angels

Dad and Mom

Charlee

Grandma Jennie with Emily

My Children

Grandpa Hayden 

 Our Grandchildren--Cohen and Brielle

We are Family

One of my favorite memories is dressing up with my sisters at our annual Thanksgiving talent show and performing a lip sync of "We are Family," by Sisters Sledge.  Let me interject that Disco music has always been a family favorite and tends to turn us into dancing queen wanna-be's.  I even took our obsession one step further by auditioning at a local historical shopping center to be a village witch during Halloween time--a disco witch.  My alter-ego is Disco DieAna, but that is a story for another post.  Back to family!

Disco Die-Ana

Family is everything to me!  I firmly believe that family relationships will continue even after we die, which of course makes them the most important relationships we have here on earth.  This weekend I had the opportunity to go to Roots Tech 2016, a genealogy conference that brings together genealogists and genealogist hopefuls from all over the world.  While I was there with 25,000 plus other people, I felt a very palpable familiarity and sense of love for the people around me.  I felt my Heavenly Father witness to me that we truly are part of one big world family--His family.  Isn't it interesting that the word "familiar" has at its root "family."  When we say to someone, "You look familiar," it's because we feel a connection to them even though we probably have never seen them before--at least not on this earth.  Perhaps the connection comes because we knew them before we were born, or perhaps it is God's way of reminding us that all of us are connected in one world family.  It is this connection which makes the following quote so poignant:  I do not know all the reasons why the circumstances of birth, health, education, and economic opportunities vary so widely here in mortality, but when I see the want among so many, I do know that "there but for the grace of God go I."  I also know that while I may not be my brother's keeper, I am my brother's brother and "because I have been given much, I too must give" (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Are We Not All Beggars).  

I used to feel guilty for not doing family history when I was a young mother.  What I realize now is that I was doing something just as important--I was making family history!  We make history every day.  It's hard to believe that the seemingly mundane tasks that I performed as I was raising my six children will be interesting to someone someday, but I believe we learn so much about who we are and why we do the things we do by learning about our ancestors, and someday, inevitably, each of us will fall into the "ancestor" category.  (That's a little heavy to think about.)

I learned a few family history tips that I wish I would have done while I was raising kids that may be helpful for those who still have their children home with them and really don't have time to delve into finding ancestral names and making pedigree charts.  Remember, "to every thing there is a season."  It may be your season to focus on making history rather than finding it.

Tips:

• Write down the funny things your children say in a notebook with their name on the front.  Trust me, when you get to be my age, the things you thought you'd remember die with the brain cells that contained them!
• Tell personal stories from your life.  That way your history gets recorded inside the minds and hearts of your children.  Remember, "It's not a story if it's not told."
• Be authentic.  When keeping a journal or telling a story to your kids, include the tough times and the bad decisions.  Your family needs to know that you are human.  Who knows, they may even learn something that will help them in the future.  Include stories of forgiveness, something that is so needed in this world.  I love this quote, "Forgiveness is not a matter of forgive and forget, but forgive and remember."
• Tell your children the stories of their ancestors.  Did you know that the top predictor of a child's happiness is that they know about their family history?  Studies have shown that children who know more about their family history are happier and have a greater sense of who they are than those who do not.
• Write a family mission statement.  Make a list of qualities that your family has when they are their best selves and write them into a short mission statement.  Put it somewhere in your home where your family can see it often.  Not only will this help remind you of the path you want to stay on, it will also become a statement that can be passed down to other generations as a powerful reminder of what their ancestors stood for.
• Keep a digital collection of your family's pictures throughout the year and then make a "Year in Review" DVD for everyone as a Christmas gift.
• Record the voices of your parents/grandparents before it is too late.  Have a Q&A session involving your whole family and record or video tape the session.  Here is a link to a wonderful website:  https://storycorps.org.  The interviews on the website contain powerful family stories.  For some time now, StoryCorps has been recording family interviews around the country, and now they have an ap that can help us record our family interviews.
• A really cool way to get older children excited about their family history is to go to a site called Relative Finder.  You have to establish a Family Search  username and password first so that you can log in.  I tried this site on my sixteen-year-old daugher last night, and suddenly, she became interested in family history!  She discovered that the President Obama is her 10th cousin.  Interestingly enough, she also found that many of those involved in the Salem Witch Trials are her ancestors.  Who knows, maybe Disco Die-ana was genetically inspired!  
• For the Family Search site, click here: https://familysearch.org.  
• For Relative Finder,  click here: https://www.relativefinder.org/#/main.  

I am including below links to my family's "Year in Review" videos for 2014 and 2015.  This is my feeble effort to chronicle pictures of my family and extended family each year.  Sometimes we get the wrong idea about the idyllic life that family videos portray.  Just know that we experience hard times too--times when no one thinks about or wants to take pictures.  However, you will notice in my 2014 video, pictures of my sister Kim, who battled with breast cancer.  This video is a little different because it includes pictures of the Savior lifting and healing.  I think that is what families do best--we are the Savior's hands for each other.
Here are the links:  You are His Hands
                                The Church Family 2015

My challenge this week to myself is that I treasure each day and recognize the power of the present to make the history of the future.

 
 

Commandments Not Suggestions

I was listening to a talk this week given by President Thomas S. Monson in 2009 that contained the following quote:

We have actually convinced ourselves that slogans will save us. "Shoot up if you must; but use a clean needle." "Enjoy sex whenever with whomever you wish; but [protect yourself]."

No.  The answer is no.  Not "no" because it isn't cool or smart or because you might end up in jail or dying in an AIDS ward--but no, because it's wrong.

What Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai were not the Ten Suggestions, they are Commandments.  "Are," not "were."  (Tedd Koppel, Duke University commencement address, 1987)

I had to look twice to make sure that this actually came from the mouth of a widely known and respected news anchor because it sounds so unlike the typical liberal rhetoric we hear coming from our TVs and radios.  I admire the courage it took for him to speak these words to an audience most likely made up of many people who probably did not share his views.  However, I admire even more those who actually walk a commandment-keeping walk in their daily lives despite the ever-changing views of the society around them.

In my studies this week, I found a new favorite scripture in Ecclesiastes 12:13:  Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:  Fear God, and keep his commandments:  for this is the whole duty of man."  People can argue over whether or not the commandments--not just the ten but those found throughout the scriptures--are outdated, but the fact still remains that "God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing" (The Book of Mormon, Mormon 9:9).  As Elder Dallin H. Oaks so aptly puts it, ". . . man's laws cannot make moral what God has declared immoral.  Commitment to love and serve God requires that we look to His law for our standard of behavior" (No Other Gods, October 2013 LDS General Conference).  

In my opinion, I don't think there are any grey areas when it comes to what God expects us to do and not do, and we can certainly trust that whatever he requires of us will shape us into a much better, happier person that what we might become otherwise. I think that we often talk about the grey area between what is wrong and what is right as a way to excuse ourselves and others for bending the rules a little.  This kind of spiritual fence-sitting seems to be an excuse for not fully committing to a Christ-centered life that may seem a little daunting at first, but in actuality brings a deep sense of joy and happiness.  I believe that God has given us commandments because He loves us.  As parents, we often wish we had an instruction manual for our children.  Well, God has given us instructions in the form of commandments that will lead families back to Him.  I know there are great blessings that come from obedience to God.  

I have included links to talks on this subject below:

May You Have Courage

No Other Gods

Coincidence or Tender Mercy

I believe that many of the little miracles we see in our lives are mistakenly labeled "coincidences."  This label keeps us from seeing God's hand in our lives and causes us to brush past the lessons of love that are right in front of us.  In a 2005 LDS General Conference talk called, The Tender Mercies of the Lord, Elder David A. Bednar stated, I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are real and that they do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence.  Often, the Lord's timing of His tender mercies helps us both discern and acknowledge them. 

If there is one thing that I have learned about God and His Son, Jesus Christ, it is that they are mindful of us as individuals.  They are aware of our weaknesses, our struggles, our desires, and our needs.  There have been things that have happened in my life that to some may seem like simple coincidences, but because God knows me, I know they were answers to simple, heartfelt prayers. 

One such event occurred as I lay in a hospital bed during my third pregnancy.  After 7 blood transfusions and a hospital stay that would last until the birth of my son six weeks later, I felt weak and discouraged.  I had been unable to care for my two other young children for weeks, and now I was relegated to a hospital bed while my body struggled to hang on to this baby for just a few more precious weeks.  I turned to the scriptures, hoping to find answers to the questions that plagued me about the whys and hows of possibly having a very premature baby boy.  As I opened my scriptures, my eyes fell upon the story of Abraham and Sarah, who in their old age were told they would have a son after years of waiting and wanting a child.  This scripture in particular, caught my attention, Is any thing too hard for the Lord  At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son (Genesis 18:14). 

At that moment, I knew that God had granted me a tender mercy.  Some may say that I came upon this scripture by coincidence, but I knew that God was reassuring me that my son would be okay.  After being told by doctors and nurses for months that this probably would not be the case, I felt sweet relief.  I knew that God, as the ultimate "physician," would make things right.  To say that things after that were easy would be untrue.  Ryan was born at twenty-eight and a half weeks, weighing two pounds, eleven ounces.  He stayed in the hospital for 2 months and was in and out of the hospital for a year; however, I count him as one of my greatest miracles.  After a rough beginning, he is now married and living a productive, healthy life.  

Sometimes the Lord lets us know He is there in the smallest of ways, but those small tender mercies can change the course of our lives if we see them for what they are.  In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Nephi says, ". . . by small means the Lord can bring about great things." (1 Nephi 16:29)  However, if we look upon these "small means" as merely coincidences, then we may miss the "great" opportunities for growth that He has in store for us.  I have sat in many Sunday meetings feeling low and depressed for some reason or other, only to have a healing balm offered me through the talks or lessons that were given.  The words spoken seemed directed at my specific problems. Had I not seen these tender mercies as evidence that God loves me, I would have not grasped the hope that they offered me to move forward in faith.  

I know that God answers prayers.  I know that He often does so in quiet, simple ways. Life is not merely a series of meaningless acts or accidents but rather, it is a tapestry of acts that culminate in an exquisite divine plan (author unknown).

I have listed below some references to talks or articles about this subject.  I hope they will build your faith and knowledge that God is mindful of you.


After Four Hundred Names

Answers to Prayers or Coincidence?

The Tender Mercies of the Lord

Our True Identity

I think the greatest advice I can give my family is "Remember who you are!"  This video is a beautiful synopsis of what I mean.
https://www.lds.org/youth/video/our-true-identity?cid=HP_FR_1-15-2016_dPFD_fYTH_xLIDyI-1_&lang=eng

I am a Home Maker

About four months after I had my first child in 1987, I became a permanent "homemaker."  I was no longer able to fill out "Occupation" lines on documents with a fancy-titled career, nor was I able to come up with a sophisticated way to describe my new job as a mother with any of the dignified words used to describe other chosen careers.  When people asked questions like, "What do you do?" or "Where do you work?"  my simple answer to refer to a not-so-simple job was "I'm just a mom."  I have since removed the word "just" because it does not begin to give credibility to the incredible journey that motherhood is.  I have also decided that while I may have started out as a homemaker, I am now a Home Maker.  This is my job title.  After six kids, one dog, 2 frogs, multiple stunt hamsters (I call them this due to their miraculous ability to squeeze their way behind walls, only to be found days later--alive-- behind a wall outlet), I have learned that a mother has the power to make or break the atmosphere in her home.  When I think of a "homemaker," I picture a robe-wearing, unshowered-for-days woman, who has given control of her life over to her six offspring.  I think of my 20-30 something self.  However, to quote one of my favorite college professors, Marie Hafen, "Now, almost  twenty years later, I understand.  After all the diapers, the bruises, the washing, the cheering, the cleaning up, the pleading, the nail-biting, the crying, the laughing, the pacing, and the praying, I understand.  I feel about raising children the way Ammon [a Book of Mormon prophet] felt about missionary work: And this is the account of Ammon and his brethren, their journeyings in the land of Nephi, their sufferings in the land, their sorrows, and their afflictions, and their incomprehensible joy."

The Book of Mormon says of our struggles that the Lord "shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain." As I turn my life over to Him, I learn that there is a link between the depth of sorrows, toil and affliction that a mother feels and the depth of joy she feels in her life.  As I recognize the divine nature of my role as a mother, I realize the power that a woman's attitude, actions, and love have on the type of a home "made" for children.   I also recognize the enormous responsibility that I have to make choices that will proactively and positively affect those within my care.  While all but one of my children are now grown, I will always be their mother.  As a mother, I am a partner with God.  He made this earth as a home for me so that I could make a home for His children.  I am a Home Maker. It is a job title that is often misunderstood and underestimated by the world, but it is a job title I am proud of.

Motherhood

Sleeping soundly, so unaware,

So peaceful, soft, without a care. 

I pray each night you're safe and warm

From every day's encircling storm.

Some say this is no place to raise a child,

So small, so pure, so meek, so mild.

But me, I tend to disagree . . . 

This child, it seems, is raising me.

(Eliza Terry Roylance)

Begin

Let me begin by saying that I am not blogging as a way to misrepresent myself as someone whose life is filled with rainbows and butterflies.  While I do appreciate life's occasional rainbow and butterfly moments, life has a way of not letting me forget that the most beautiful rainbows come after the heaviest rains and that butterflies begin as slow, tedious, rather ugly worm-like creatures who must eek their way through myriads of larger-than-life obstacles in order to make impossible beauty, possible. Life is teaching me that "the most important things we can learn . . . are learned the slow way, through practice, through trial and error.  This kind of learning depends on opposition." (Hafen, Bruce C.: The Broken Heart:  Applying the Atonement to Life's Experiences)

Now, if you ask anyone who knows me well, I do not like "slow."  I want to learn things quickly so that I can move on and accomplish something else, but such is not the way of a truly productive, God-driven life.  As Robert Browning aptly puts it, "There is an answer to the passionate longing of the heart for fullness . . .:  live in all things outside yourself by love and you will have joy.  That is the life of God; it ought to be our life.  In Him it is accomplished and perfect; but in all created things, it is a lesson learned slowly against difficulty."  I am hoping that recording some of the slowly-learned lessons in my life will reinforce those lessons in my sometimes hard heart and head, but my greatest hope is that my family will be enlightened and simultaneously grow up with me.  I use the term family loosely because I have grown up believing that we are all brothers and sisters, created by a loving Heavenly Father who wants nothing more than for all of us to return home to Him.

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or Mormons, as we are typically called.  Much of what I share will of course be based on the deep faith I have in my Savior and His teachings.  Sometimes my posts might be a thought from a church leader or two, sometimes an insight that I have learned from hard experience or joyful triumph.  I am hoping that whatever I share will leave a small trail of light that will lead others to the source of all light--Jesus Christ.