When I was young, I remember my family kneeling along my Grandparents couch, praying. We weren't just praying for anything! We were praying for a miracle. Being so young I don't remember all of the tiny details, but I do remember the sound of my Grandpa's voice, the tears running down everyones faces, and knowing without a doubt that my Heavenly Father would take care of it. There were many other times I remember seeing and experiencing blessings, kneeling with the family, and knowing without a doubt that everything would be okay because we had asked our Heavenly Father for help.
Over the past few years, as my kids have gotten older, I have wondered if I would ever have the opportunity to teach them about prayer. I know that teaching them to say their prayers every morning and night, before meals, and making sure we have our two family prayers a day is teaching them something. But nothing can compare to the experience of a family joining together to ask for something as important as a life. Our family is small and there just isn't much that happens. Until a few weeks ago.
It started with Chai, my nephew. His appendix burst and he ended up being flown to University Medical Center in Salt Lake City. Living so far away, there wasn't much we could do for him or his family. So while we talked as a family about all the things we could do, we finally decided that a special fast and prayer for him would be the best. We knelt along our couch...
A couple of weeks later, Randi got a cold. Being the great Mom that I am, I gently consoled her and told her that she would be well in a few days. One night, I even told Jim that the fever she had developed would burn it out of her and she would be fine. I finally gave in and took her to the doctor when she cried all night because her ears hurt. Four hours, three prescriptions, two chest x-rays, talks of sending her to the hospital, and a diagnosis of pneumonia later, we were lucky to be heading home. Really, she wasn't all that sick... Randi became the main subject of our prayers and was better by the time Jim got back into town. A blessing was no longer needed... or so I thought!
At her recheck appointment a couple of days later, all the doctor could do was shake his head. This time we left with more prescriptions and orders to "stay in bed!!" -- HUH? ... and we had missed our opportunity for a blessing because Jim was already off again, this time to Milwaukee. But, we kept kneeling along our couch as a family... The next appointment was just a few days later and she was finally improving.
On the heals of getting the good news about Randi, we received news that Derek, my cousins son, was hurt while scuba diving. With Jim still in Milwaukee, I gathered my kids around and told them what happened with Derek. The first thing Ryder said was "Mom, we need to say a prayer!" Although Derek has a long hard road ahead of him, he is improving and I believe that all the fasting and prayers for him haven't gone unnoticed.
In a crazy sort of way, I appreciate the trials we have gone through the past little while. I appreciate our extended family allowing us to learn through their trials. I am thanking my Heavenly Father tonight for giving us a chance to kneel along our couch as a family.
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