Angels Will Attend

My older two sons, ages 14 and 15, are preparing for a High Adventure bike riding trip for scouts this summer.  The trip is over 300 miles and will go from Sacramento to San Francisco Bay.  In anticipation of this trek, several preparations have been made, including purchasing the boys new bikes.  We originally purchased them mountain bikes, but soon realized that they needed road bikes (the bikes with the skinny tires) because they handle better on longer trips.  So, they each got new road bikes.  As part of their training, they were given a challenge with all the other scouts and scout leaders to log in 500 miles of riding/training time before June 30^th (they had 10 weeks to complete this challenge).  Of course, as an additional level of preparation, their scout nights and Saturdays were often spent on 20, 30, 40 and even 50 mile bike treks practicing going up hills for long distances. 

My boys have loved their bikes and their riding time.  They enjoy the freedom to go around town on their own.  Because of this, they were the only two boys to reach 500 miles by the deadline.  Their reward?  Anything on the menu at a local ice cream eatery!  Yummo!

On one of their final planned bike trips, the group were up the hills practicing the stamina that would be required for the first 1/3 of their week long trip.  It was a very hot day here and temperatures were forecasted to reach 112!  The boys started at 7am and were to finish around 11am when the temperatures were at 100 degrees.  As always, I pray for my children when they are away from home and especially on these trips.  I always pray that they will be safe, aware and most importantly, come home safely. 

At 11:35am, I received a call.  My son had been in an accident. 

I would later learn all the details, but on the phone, the most important words were, “he is okay.” 

Here are the details.  The majority of the group had pressd forward to the gas station where they were to meet the trailer that would haul their bikes back home.  Daniel elected to stay with one of the leaders who had a flat tire.  As this leader was continuing to ride slower than Daniel wanted, he checked in with his leader who told him to go meet up with the group because the gas station was “just straight up there.”  So, off Daniel went.  As he was coming up to a red light, he was going about 15 mph.  He was in the bike lane.  2 other cyclists were waiting at the light.  2 cars were in the traffic lane waiting at the light.  Before Daniel need to slow down very much, the light changed to green and he continued to pedal his way through the light.  Of note, it was at this light that the gas station set off to the right where the rest of his group was waiting.  He missed that turn.  About 50 yards past the gas station entrance/traffic light, there was a driveway to an apartment complex.  As he continued to pedal, he described hearing an engine revving and then a black car turned into the driveway in front of him.  In a split second, he swiftly swerved and slammed into the side of the car with his bike, legs, shoulder and head and then he fell back onto the pavement with his head hitting the pavement below. 

There, of course, were several repercussions from this accident, including a police report, the driver saying she didn’t see Daniel (although I have evidence to refute that statement), Daniel’s bike was destroyed, he was knocked completely out of alignment (cervical) and his shoulders and hips were different heights, his neck was straight instead of curved (whiplash), his tailbone curved up instead of down and he had a light concussion.  BUT…he was able to get up and walk away from the accident. 

Believe me, as I heard the details over and over again I KNEW that the Lord was watching over him.  I KNOW that he was given the strength and perhaps guidance to swerve, otherwise, he would have flown up over the car.   I know that the timing was also very important because mere seconds different and he would have been pinned under the car. 

This is where my heart begins to tremble. 

He was spared.  Our prayers and those of his priesthood leaders who never leave on a bike trip without the power of prayer calling upon the heavens to watch over them spared my son more significant injuries. 

The next day was Sunday.  I called upon his Young Men’s leader, our Home Teacher (a priesthood brother who visits us each month) and his father to give him a special priesthood blessing for healing.  This is a sacred ordinance that is modeled after the Savior wherein those holding the authority to act in the name of the Lord place a blessing upon the recipient from our Father in Heaven, as directed by the Spirit .  Before starting the blessing, the brethren asked what we would like from the blessing (or in other words, what is it that we are asking of the Lord).  My response?  That my son will be healed. 

Daniel specifically requested that his father say the blessing.  Now, I have been married to my husband for 16 years and I know how he speaks.  It was definitely he who opened up the blessing and calling upon Daniel to listen and to hear the words of the blessing.  Then there was a shift in my husband’s way of speaking.  He was quicker with his words and they flowed evenly and there was no hesitation for thought of what would be said.  Now I want to be very reverent about this sacred ordinance and what transpired, but I can say that I KNOW without any doubt that the Spirit of our Heavenly Father was indeed present and spoke very clear and specific words to Daniel in this blessing.  It was almost overpowering to sense and to know that His presence was there.  And just as seamlessly as the Spirit had spoken those words of guidance and direction through the blessing, my husband’s way of speaking returned and he was able to conclude the blessing in a beautiful manner, as well. 

Of course, one of the key aspects of the blessing is that Daniel was told that he would be healed fully.  This, of course, was the most important thing. 

The next day, we went to the chiropractor and had x-rays taken.  After they were developed we say the result of his injuries.  They were, as described above – he was severely out of alignment with a crooked spine!  When you looked straight at the spine, you could see it curve to the right.  This was done as the left side of his body hit the car, the body immediately pulled to the right to fix it, thus the curving of his spine to the right.  The treatment plan was to be adjusted 3 times a week for 6 weeks, then 2 times a week for 8 weeks and then once a week for 6 weeks.  They day that we saw the xrays, he had his first adjustment.  The doctor remarked that it was a smooth adjustment with no resistance.  We returned 2 days later.  Daniel’s shoulders and hips were aligned already.  His headaches were gone.  Another adjustment.  The doctor was impressed how easy it was to adjust him – again the body gave no resistance.  By the following Monday, Daniel had no complaints of any kind.  No soreness, no back aches, no sleeping difficulties and he was walking without a limp.  The doctor was amazed.  He had rarely seen such quick recovery.  It had only been one week. 

Shortly after the accident, we visited with a personal injury lawyer because we wanted to ensure that Daniel’s bike was replaced and his medical expenses were covered.  The lawyer told us that, while of course there is no guarantee of any settlement amount, his settlement would be greater because of the physical injuries, including gash on his shoulder that he sustained.  We acknowledged this understanding and told Daniel that any settlement will go into his Mission Fund for him to use to pay for his mission (at age 18 or 19).  The lawyer assured us that we had a “very defendable case.”  As long as he gets a new bike and his medical treatment is paid for, then I am fine.

Daniel continues to go for treatment 3 times a week and he continues to follow doctor’s orders in all areas.  We are making plans for him to participate fully in the pre-arranged bike trip to San Francisco (July 22^nd – 27^th).  We had been admonished, however, by loving family and friends to be careful of allowing Daniel to do too much, since his activities could affect any potential settlement he receives. 

In talking with my husband, I was glad to see that he and I are on the same page, in that, we are not in this to get rich.  All we ever wanted is for Daniel to be healed, for him to get a new bike and for his medical treatments to be covered.  The Lord has blessed my son considerably for our faith and he has healed my son.  Daniel already has a new bike.  He is receiving his treatments and I know they will be covered in full by the claims on insurance.  So, how can I care about a larger settlement?  Focusing on this would denounce the faith we used to ask for our son to be healed.  The Lord answered our prayer and thus we must remain truthful and faith yielding throughout the entire process. 

The truth is Daniel was hurt.  He was injured.  He was emotionally scarred and he was quite fearful of getting back on a bike.  He body was damaged, he had headaches, he couldn’t sleep, his back hurt, his leg was swollen and was painful to touch and his bike was destroyed.  But, these are recoverable and through the power of the Lord and His priesthood, he is making that recovery.  He is being blessed to recover remarkably quickly.  I believe it is so he can complete this bike trek that he prepared for and because we had the faith to ask for healing. 

I am thankful for the Lord’s healing power upon my son and for blessing our family with this faith-building experience.  I know that He is watching over us and that his angels do attend, when we ask and when we need it. 

And a final and kind of funny note...If Daniel had not been in the accident and been stopped just 50 yards from where his scout troop had stopped at the gas station, we don’t know how far he would have gone down the road all by himself, continuing to look for a “gas station”. 

You see, the Lord is watching over at all times. 

Alexander and Daniel

Why Do Mothers Cry?

Why Do Mother’s Cry?

A little boy asked his mother, "Why are you crying?" "Because I'm a woman," she told him.

"I don't understand," he said. His Mom just hugged him and said, "And you never will."

Later the little boy asked his father, "Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?"

"All women cry for no reason," was all his dad could say.

The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry.

Finally he put in a call to God. When God got on the phone, he asked,

"God, why do women cry so easily?"

God said, "When I made the woman she had to be special.

I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world, yet gentle enough to give comfort.

I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children.

I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up, and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining.

I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly.

I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart.

I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him And finally, I gave her a tear to shed. This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed."

"You see my son," said God, "the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart the place where love resides."

Now this story was clearly written by someone and it does not have any doctrinal proof that this is, in fact, how women were created; however, for most who read this, especially women and mothers, it touches us in our hearts.  I believe it touches us in our hearts because it is our Father in Heaven letting us know that yes, we were created differently and for a special purpose.  We should not try to be the same as all the other children of God, always trying to be equal.  We were created for a wise and separate purpose.  We should be engaged in the same purposes as others, however, including uplifting others, our children and those with whom we serve and help them to feel of the love that their Father in Heaven has for them. 

As a mother of four – 3 boys (2 of whom are teenagers) and a daughter – I have shed many, many tears.  These tears have been for a variety of reasons, including feeling hurt or disappointment in their decisions, words and actions.  I have been engaged in long prayers with my Father in Heaven for an understanding of how I am to parent “this child” because I am feeling so hurt or sad or frustrated.  Amazingly enough, the answers are always the same.  “Love him.”  “Serve him.”  Invariably I find that those words that echoed through my mind and heart were just the right things to do.  While it didn’t “fix” my child(ren), it did strengthen me.  It uplifted me to be the mother that I was created to be. 

I do not know if my children will ever know of the many hours I have spent on my knees or with my head bowed in pleading supplication to the Lord for His strengthening power to get through the day and to be a “good mother”.  Perhaps they will never know how much I ached with them and for them in the quiet of my own room.  Perhaps they will not know the number of times I negotiated with the Lord to allow me to take on their pain so that they would be spared.  And perhaps they will never know the number of times I asked the Lord to distance the memory of their mother losing her patience from their sweet minds.  But I do know that it is my job, as their mother, to bear all of these things FOR them and to tell them EVERY DAY that I love them and that they are extraordinary children of God.  If this is all that they know and all that they learn from me then I will have done my duty, as a mother, well, and I can return with honor. 

To Alexander, Daniel, Joshua and Isabella – Les quiero mucho (I love you a lot). 

 

Alexander, Joshua and Daniel - eating after Despicable Me 2 movie

Isabella - simply gorgeous