Thankful

As most of you know, Jon and I were sick for a few weeks (off and on) starting right before Thanksgiving. First, I got sick and then Jon got sick. Then I got better first. However, after Jon started to get better I got sick again. It has been quite a cycle.

Last Saturday, I woke up and didn't feel good at all- but I was determined to not be sick anymore. I needed to go grocery shopping and we had tickets for a BYU basketball game up that was in SLC for later in the evening. I set up an appointment to get my hair cut and we were off. As the day progressed I started to go down hill, fast.

Later on that evening, I was all set up in the living room our our pull out bed watching Gilmore Girls (I know, I know... really lame). I started to pray because I didn't want to feel sick anymore. I had too many things that I needed to be doing and I didn't want to miss any days at work. I had a high fever, I was dizzy... I just felt so out of it. I received a prompting to ask for a blessing. I'm usually pretty chicken to ask for one. I feel sheepish when I ask. Anyways, after about an hour, my fever was starting to get higher and I was still being prompted to ask for a blessing. I finally asked Jon. It was during a ward activity- so not many people were home at the time. We were able to get a hold of our good friend, Seabass (Jon's freshman roommate) and he was able to come over.

This was a good spiritual experience for me. It brought us (me and Jon) closer together. I'm am so thankful to have a husband who lives worthily so he can give blessings. I am thankful that we are sealed together for time and eternity. Our 2 year anniversary is coming up and this was just another great reminder of why it is so important to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ- so that we can be a forever family.

During the blessing, my fever broke and I was sweating like crazy (sorry if that last part was too much info...). I was so thankful that I had been prompted by the Spirit to ask for a blessing and that I was given the courage to ask and the faith to be healed. By Tuesday I was 100%.

This may be a little off topic, but, earlier I was reading Elder Wirthlin's talk from October's Conference, "Come What May, and Love it". I wanted to quote a part of his talk here. He was referring to his mother and what she taught him about life here and how we all have to face adversities but it's how we face them that makes all the difference- in my case, this time around it was being sick for about 3+ weeks straight!

"How can we love days that are filled with sorrow? We can’t—at least not in the moment. I don’t think my mother was suggesting that we suppress discouragement or deny the reality of pain. I don’t think she was suggesting that we smother unpleasant truths beneath a cloak of pretended happiness. But I do believe that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life.

If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness."

I love this Gospel and all the joy and happiness that it has brought to my life. I am thankful that I made the decision to come to BYU when I had many Universities in New England open to me. It was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. I know Jesus Christ is our Savior and that He lives. I have a testimony of tithing and the blessings from that. Even if it was just having a car that didn't break down when it should have been completely dead (the KIA) or finding more money in our bank accounts after finishing our budget than we should have had. Life isn't always easy, but I love knowing that I'm never alone and that I never have to question that.

We are excited for this Christmas season and for the opportunity we have to reflect on the birth of Christ.

PS: we had our first snowfall this weekend!