Cute Girl

I love our lazy Sunday mornings. In our old ward we went to church at 11:00, which really is the best time to go if you ask me…it gives you time to sleep in but when you get out of church you still have the whole afternoon to do stuff.  Going at 1:00 lets us sleep in and have a lazy morning, but then when we get out at 4:00 the day is almost gone.

It was fast Sunday today, and I had a few things happen that showed me that my Heavenly Father is aware of me.  I was fasting today for a few people in my life that I know are struggling with some serious problems that have happened to them in their lives.  I was also fasting to know the will of my Heavenly Father and to have courage to follow His will.  I was worried today about dealing w/ Autumn during sacrament meeting.  Last Sunday she kept trying to take off her dress and was fussing and crying.  It seems like every Sunday is a struggle to keep her entertained and quiet, which is especially hard as a single mom b/c I don’t have a husband I can “tag team” with for some help.  I have been a little impatient w/ Autumn the past few days and just prayed that everything would go OK at church today.

Well, we sang my all time favorite sacrament hymn, “As Now We Take The Sacrament” (Hymn #169).  I have loved that hymn ever since I was a student at BYU.  It was our last Sunday in the ward my Sophomore year before everyone went home at the end of the winter semester.  We sang Hymn # 169 and then our Bishopric blessed and passed the sacrament to us instead of the young men in the ward doing it like normal.  I don’t know why, but I was so touched that day by the words of that hymn and then the Bishopric doing such a simple and loving act.  It made me think of when the Savior showed His love to His disciples by washing their feet.  I had tears streaming down my cheeks.  Ever since that Sunday, I have always loved that hymn.  Today it touched my heart again, especially this line of the song:

“…silently we pray for courage to accept they will, to listen and obey.  We love thee, Lord, our hearts are full.  We’ll walk they chosen way.”

Today while the young men were passing the sacrament, Autumn kept looking at the people behind us on the next pew.  I turned around to see who she kept smiling at, and it was the missionaries.  One of the Elders reached into his coat pocket and took out a pass along card and gave it to Autumn.  It was a picture of Christ coming out of the tomb.  She shyly took the card from him and was looking at it.  I noticed on His hand there was the hole from the nail that held Him on the cross.  I pointed that out to Autumn and whispered to her that He had an owie on His hand.  She kept looking at me and pointing to her own hand and saying, “Jesus owie.”  It was such a tender teaching moment and made my heart so full.

After church we went over to Mom & Dad’s to eat dinner and just hang out.  Autumn went and sat on the couch w/ Nick and had him read her a book.  It was so cute to see the two of them sitting together.

I am truly blessed beyond belief and hope that Heavenly Father will guide me in what I need to do and what He would have me do in my life.  I hope I’ll have the faith and courage to follow His will for me.  Today I read a quote from this blog and it really struck a cord with me and gave me a lot to think about.

…I told a friend that I believed that when hard times come our way, we have to have faith in the plan and not in the outcome. If we only have faith in the outcome, and that outcome doesn't turn out the way we want it, then all we are left with is bitterness and anger. If we have faith in the Lord and his plan and love for all of us here on earth, then we can make every challenge a learning experience.