So, it's been a couple years since I posted anything. Life has been busy. :)
In both Sacrament Meeting and Relief Society people talked about the benefits of writing down our spiritual experiences so we could read them later on. I have been thinking about that, and decided to write them down here. I've been wanting to get back into my blog for a while, so this is a good way to combine the two. :) Some of these I may have already shared, but oh well. :) These are the experiences I thought about today that I wanted to make sure I wrote down.
When I was in college and my dad was in the hospital, we all knew he would be leaving us soon. I got the call from my mom to come as quick as possible because it was time to say goodbye at about 7 one morning. As I was preparing to leave, I quickly wrote down the phone numbers for each member of my bishopric and put the small paper in my wallet. I figured I'd need to call one of them when it was all over just to give them the update. They knew the situation and I figured I'd need to keep everyone posted. Well, we got in a bad car accident on the way home and I never made it down there before my dad died. In fact, I was at Brother Owens' house (a member of my bishopric) when I got the call that he was gone. Didn't need those phone numbers after all. Or so I thought... After Christmas break a couple weeks later, my mom was bringing me back up to Logan. Something happened to her car, and we had to pull into a gas station. It died completely. We weren't sure what to do. Then I remembered that I had put the phone numbers for the bishopric members in my wallet. I was able to go into the gas station and use a phone (that was back before everyone had cell phones) and call my bishop. He sent help and we got me back to my apartment and my mom made it back to her house okay. So while I didn't need the phone numbers for what I originally thought I was being prompted to put them in my wallet for, I still needed them, and for something that felt like a much bigger blessing than simply getting some emotional support. We were literally rescued as a result.
The year I turned 25, our prophet, President Hinckley, and the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints asked every member to read the entire Book of Mormon by the end of the year. That started in August, so we had a few months to complete it. We were promised very big blessings if we complied with this request. At the time this challenge came out, I was just starting the process of applying for grad school. I really wanted to get a Master's Degree in British Literature. I really wanted the blessing of being accepted into grad school, so I decided that I would read the Book of Mormon TWICE in the time frame given for the challenge. I did NOT get accepted into grade school. I was really disappointed. However, instead of being blessed with what I originally set out trying 'earn', I was blessed with what I wanted more- Scott. During that time I met and married Scott. And that was a much bigger and more eternal blessing than a Master's Degree ever could be. :)
I have had quite a few other experiences, most small, but some more poignant. If I were to try to pin one down as the day I got a testimony, I wouldn't be able to because I have had so many over the years. But it's still really nice to reflect back on some of these experiences that helped me know the Lord loves me. I hope we can all start to reflect back on past experiences and actively look for new experiences as we try to build our relationship with our Father in Heaven.
