Blessed

When we recognize the Lord has a hand in our everyday lives, then he can bless us. 

 This is a concept I have at times questioned, regained a testimony of, time passes, and I find myself wondering again if the Lord really does have a hand in my everyday life. I think we are easy to forget, easy to forget blessings, forget tender mercies, forget spiritual experiences we have had. We aren't so quick to remember. If we were quick to remember, I think we would doubt less.Part of the reason I wanted to start this blog, is because I felt myself slowly forgetting the strong impressions and feelings I have had with my pregnancy and birth of Joshua.  I knew if I didn't write things down, I would forget how strong the Spirit has been, how strong the impressions I had were, how strong the sense of comfort I was given.  I didn't want to forget......never again can I forget that yes, "the Lord is in the details of our lives."

The day we blessed Joshua, I wrote down the testimony I shared with those at church, in an effort to remember how full my heart was, how incredibly blessed I felt, to not forget. This is what I shared:
"I wish I could just stand here and you would all know the thoughts in my heart, because my heart is full, and I know I will not be able to adequately express the thoughts of my heart.

For those that don't know our sweet, new baby Joshua was born with Down Syndrome . And in his short 2 months with us he has already strengthened my testimony. Two things I have always struggled with are one, feeling like I don't have the ability to listen to and act on the whisperings of the Spirit. And second, that Heavenly Father has a hand in my daily life.

Joshua coming into my life has made me realize differently .

When I was in the early part of my pregnancy I knew something wasn't right . I asked Jeff to give me a blessing. After the blessing I knew something wasn't right, but Jeff didn't feel that way, so I tried to put the feelings aside. As the days grew closer to his birth, the promptings that not everything were normal with this baby were so strong, that there were days , that I was preparing myself that we may not be bringing home a baby at all.  I felt prompted to tell Jeff to be prepared that not everything was ok with our baby and that he needed to prepare himself. On the day Joshua was born, I got prompting after prompting to call the doctor because something wasn't right. I put it off over and over again, until  i was standing next to a plate on the wall and it fell off crashing to the ground into pieces. I think I literally said out loud. Ok ,I will call. I did call, and our baby was born a few hours later. They didn't give me enough time to get my husband or my mom to the hospital.

I tell you this because, I have learned that the spirit does speak to me, and yes, I do listen and act on the promptings. And also , Heavenly Father loves me enough to prepare me for the birth of a baby with special needs. He prepared me so well , that I was not shocked or sad to know that our baby had Down syndrome. Heavenly Father does love me and know me. The amount if peace and comfort I felt for weeks before and after Joshua's delivery were incredible, and a true gift from my Heavenly Father .

What an incredible spirit this little boy is. I can't begin to think what a wonderful spirit this child must have that he has a guaranteed ticket to the celestial kingdom. Amazing. He doesn't need to be tested. He has already proven himself. And I get to be his mother. What an amazing gift.

I want to thank Heavenly Father for the spirit this  little boy has already brought to our family. I will never forget the first time my kids came to see Joshua in the hospital. As we explained to our kids the special brother they now had, the spirit in the room was especially strong. And to think we will get to experience many more of these times. What a wonderful gift our family has been given .

I can only pray this child gets to serve in the way The Lord would have him serve.  I pray that you and I will allow him to teach us the things he was sent here to teach us. Because I strongly feel he is here not to teach my little family, but all of us.

I pray I can be a loving and deserving mother of this boy. "

I know some of this is a repeat to some of the things I have shared on this blog already, but I hope in some of the difficult times I may have ahead of me, that I will be quick to remember how incredibly blessed I am.

To learn more about my beliefs click the "i believe" button on the top right.