Being in the Elders Quorum Presidency means there are times when I have to cover for our President when he can't be at a certain place or meeting due to circumstances. Today was one of those days. With Pres. Jones being at his brother's baby blessing I was asked to be at our PEC meeting at 9a.m. . As I sat and listened to the affairs of our ward, my heart became a bit heavy. For those who know me best know that I have a bit of a soft side. Maybe to a fault at times. I can't help but feel pain for those who struggle and/or have trials or sickness in their lives. I then looked at our Bishopric in amazement knowing these great men do all they can to care for our ward, mostly away from their families and on their own time! Later in the day I sat in Elders Quorum and listened to our lesson on Adversity. It was during this lesson that my mind began to wander and think back upon my own life and the adversity that I have seen and endured. Again my heart was heavy. I thought of the pain of those closest to me and what they might have felt. The loss of a mother at a young age is a huge loss. I know how I felt and the pain that I had to endure. I thought of my siblings and my Dad and began to feel their pain too. I then began to think of my divorce. That pain is too hard to explain. I again thought of the pain that those closest to me must have felt during this time with me, and again my heart pains for them too. About half way through our lesson I decide I gotta snap out of this! No sooner than this thought came to me, our lesson turned to the positive side of trials.... the MIRACLES that come from trials! So tonight I'm grateful for the miracles in my life!
Kami- You are my miracle! You're proof that Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. Sadly enough you had to experience a lot of pain through adversity as well, but because of it, we have each other! Thanks for loving me and believing in me! You're my best friend, the love of my life!
Sherri- You're our ELLSWORTH miracle! There aren't many people who were as brave as you were, coming into our family after the loss of a mother. Thanks for knowing it was the right thing to do and enduring some tough times. I have always felt your love towards me. I love you and am grateful you are a part of our family!
I have many other miracles in my life and I hope you all know who you are! Life wouldn't be the same without any of you!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
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7 comments:
A very sweet and sincere post, Brent. My heart aches when I think of the adversity that you have endured but the key word is "endured"...you have come out on the other side of those tough times and now you are who you are because of them...a very caring, loving, compassionate person. It's wonderful that you can see all the miracles that have come into your life as a result of your faith in the Lord's plan. I know that He has many more blessings waiting for you and your family as you continue to trust in Him.
I too feel such hurt when I hear the word adversity. We all have it, we all have to go through it. Some much greater than others but none the less we all have to go through it to feel and know what miracles are to feel and know joy from sorrow. As much as I hate the hard times I'm grateful for them and the growth that we gain through them. You have endured many trials and you are an example to many. We love you and we appreciate you. I also want to thank you for what you said about my Mom being an Ellsworth Miracle. That was very sweet of you!
Take care and we love you.
JoLynn
Babe, YOU are absolutely the BEST thing in the world! MY BEST FRIEND...my one TRUE love!
I honestly can't thank certain people in our lives enough for completely SUCKING IT UP BIG TIME...or else I would have NEVER found you and would have never known how it feels to be truly HAPPY!
Adversity SUCKS...but the outcome is always Heaven Sent! YOU are Heaven Sent!
I love you more than anything...ALWAYS will!
Happy, happiness!!! Brent, gratitude is a wonderful thing because your expressing it has made me feel more grateful for what I have as well! We don't have a lot of money but what we DO have shows that God has taken care of us through everything. We have all that we need and even then some! The blessing of having family members like you is one of those things I am so grateful for.
Love You!
Thank you so much, Brent. I love your post this week, and that of your sweet Mother-in-Law. What a spiritual giant you've become! Think back to your youth, did you ever realize the depth you would grow to? With your spirit and dedication it was easy for us old folks to see.
Adversity sucks. I am so grateful for the atonement. He has experienced our pain and suffering and can help us to bear all if we let Him.
I love you....
I really do appreciate you Brent as my brother and your hardships that you have endured. I really love what you said about Sherri and what she has done for our family. It really touched me. Thanks for being an example!
Wow! What can I say? Your comments
left me so choked up I can hardly think. You are right. Having to watch you go through "your trial by fire" was really hard. I wanted so badly to make it right for you, to let you know every thing would be alright in the long run. And it was truly a miracle when out of the blue Kami was there. I have always felt that was no coincidence. Heavenly Father was looking out for you. I am so very happy to claim you as my Grandson. You have always been very special to me and I think you know that. I was very proud of you the way you expressed yourself in the blog. Never be afraid to let people know how much you love and appreciate them You did a beautiful job of that in this blog. God bless you and Kami too.
Lots of love Grandma Helen
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