Week 12

It has been a very nice week. Do I say that every week? Probably!

I'm going to start with a story that is really shared with Madeline. Caryn texted me on Monday - "Not sure if Madeline told you about her crazy week or not but thanks for being part of her answer to prayer!!" Well I was in an all-day meeting and couldn't ask her what she was talking about! I called her when I got home, and here's what she told me, with a bit more detail. It was such a sweet story that I wrote it up for our weekly mission newsletter for the "Tender Mercies" section. Here's what I wrote:

"Last month Elder and Sister Hall came to our mission for a short time while waiting for their visas to Portugal. I was excited to learn that they would soon be in the same mission as my granddaughter, Sister Madeline Ashton. When the Halls introduced themselves in Sunday School, I knew that I needed to speak to them. So right after class, I told them to be sure to watch out for my granddaughter when they got to Portugal, never dreaming that they would actually ever meet her. Sister Hall told me that she was assigned to be the mission’s nurse and that there might be a chance; so she pulled out her phone, typed in Sister Ashton’s name and promised to give her a hug from Nana if she ever met her. Fast-forward two weeks. Today I got a message from my granddaughter. She was transferred last week, and somewhere along the way she picked up a nasty bug. After she spent hours on the bathroom floor, in tears and much distress, her companions decided that they should probably call for help. So, in the middle of the night the call was routed to dear Sister Hall. She was able to calm my granddaughter’s fears and give her some helpful suggestions, and then she said, “Sister Ashton, I have a story to tell you.…” A few days later, Sister Hall was able to deliver that hug at their zone conference. The Lord certainly is in the details of our lives and puts angels along the way when we need them most." Here is a picture of Madeline and Sister Hall. 

I love knowing that Heavenly Father is watching out for each of us and blessing us with the things we need most. Maybe not immediately, but we need to learn patience. I loved that reminder as I was reading in Come Follow Me Daily, a blog that I follow going with the Sunday School reading for the week. It's a quote from Elder Holland's talk, An High Priest of Good Things to Come: "Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don't come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come." This blessing for Madeline came soon - right when she needed it; but I know that many of you have had to wait years for the blessings you've prayed for, and some may not have received them yet. We learn patience along the way - sometimes the hard way!

Caryn shared this talk with her family this week. You might want to read or watch the whole thing. It's from the October 1999 general conference. At the end of the talk was one of my favorite quotes from Elder Holland. When Papa had the surgery on his neck and was in the hospital for so long, our stake president, Andy Horton, visited and brought him this quote. We kept it up on the wall for weeks as a reminder because it was so perfect for his situation: "Don't give up, boy. Don't you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead - a lot of it.... You keep your chin up. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come."

Nothing comes without a lot of hard work and even more faith. Thanks to all of you for your example of that in my life. Congrats to Jonathan (and thanks for your example of hard work and faith!) for your first college touchdown yesterday! I've attached the great picture of it because many of you might not have seen it!

 

Here's hoping for another great week ahead! I pray for you all that you'll receive the blessings you're praying for.