Hello my precious family!
I pray all is well with you, and I'm sure the Lord is directing your paths as He is directing mine. :) I have a couple stories that I would like to share with you today....
First, There is a member in my family ward who is a single-empty-nester. She agreed to come out teaching with us earlier this week. However, like happens more often than I would like, our appointment ditched out on us. Unfortunate but true, So the member asked if we had eaten dinner, and we had not. We were going to try and schedule another lesson real fast that she could help us with, but he didn't answer his phone. And she responded, "It's a sign. Let me take you out to dinner." And she did. She took us out to a nice restaurant and it was delicious. I was very grateful. During the dinner we just listened to her. Which I feel she really needed. There was a question pressing on my mind, but like a fool, I never asked it uncertain where to slip it in. When we went our separate ways both my companion and I felt like what we did was good, but not the best. There was something more we should have done for her.
Later in the week we invited her to come out teaching again, and again our appointment canceled. And the first thing the member said was, "Well, maybe it a sign, have you eaten dinner?" with a huge smile on her face. We all giggled a little, but that night we had already eaten dinner. So, we asked if we could just give her a lesson at her home. She agreed and we followed her there. On the drive there my companion and I discussed a few things and came to the conclusion, we were being given a second change to do what we were supposed to do before. We pondered the message that the Lord wanted her to hear.
After we got to her apartment and got situated we started the lesson with a prayer. After that, the first thing I did was ask the question that had been pressing on my mind during the dinner we had shared earlier in the week. She then expressed some of the things she had been going through these last three years.
She had her own company, and was doing pretty well for herself and her family as a single mother. When she found out that her eldest son had been stealing her money and her product designs. She was basically broke, and extremely heart broken. A hurricane had hit her home and destroyed that pretty bad not long before she found out about her son. It was a very hard experience for her. She expressed that one day she was in a boat on the water looking at her home when the Spirit inquired:
"Your house that you remodeled so you could retire and be safe there the rest of your life, how's that goin' for ya'?
Your business that was supposed to financially support you the rest of your life, how's that goin' for ya'?
Your son, who was supposed to be the only man you could trust and who was going to take care of you the rest of your life, how's that goin' for ya'?"
In response she thought, "Not very well, thank you very much!"
She expressed that she came to realize that up until that point, she was trying to do everything by herself. She wasn't relying on the Lord as she should have been.
There are many other pieces to her story, and the sorrows are carefully woven with the tender mercies of the Lord. You can see the intricate design He laid out to keep her safe, and also bring her close. Anyway, while she was expressing these things, and sharing her story. I received and solid thought in my mind. Go to the parable of the Good Samaritan. After she was done, that is what I did. It was a beautiful experience to see how similar her life had been to that parable.
She had been stripped by robbers, and wounded. Her home could not shelter her, her business could not support her. They passed her by as the Priest and the Levite. But the Savior came, and stopped. He helped her, cared for her, and carried her to safety and there He stayed with her all through the night, in the darkest moments of her life. He was with her. And when it came time for Him to depart, He left her in the care of those He trusts to care for her.
The parable is in Luke 11, I believe. At the end of the chapter. I would encourage you to read it, and ponder how the Lord has been with you in your darkest hours. I promise you He has.
I'm already out of time, and I had so much more to share! However, know that I love you! I look forward to hearing from you, and I hope this experience I had will bless your life at least a little. Because it has truly blessed mine.
Love you!
Forever,
Sis. Chris.
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