Spiritual Experiences
This blog is our family history and as I think about what I want our family to remember as our kids grow up and start their own families, I feel like I need to include some more spiritual experiences. We have had some amazing things happen to us lately that I want to remember and I want my kids to look back and know that their mom and dad had a relationship with Heavenly Father.
A couple months ago I was taking some youth on a temple trip (if you want to know what we were doing at the temple click on this link http://www.mormon.org/faq/proxy-baptisms), I had run some errands that day and had heard a weird noise in my car. Scott couldn't hear or see anything out of the ordinary, and I had thought that I should take his car on the trip, but then realized that that would be silly because I would need the extra seats that are in my car to haul the youth. I had a full car driving up to the temple (about 45 minutes away), and about ten minutes before getting there the noise got louder and was coming from the left rear of the car, it was what sounded like something was loose and flapping and hitting against the car. I thought that maybe it was the step to get into the car. I felt like I just needed to get to the temple and then I could take a look at it. We pulled in and were waiting for our session and who walked in but my home teacher (a member of our congregation who is assigned to look after and teach our family) and his wife! They were coming to participate with us at the temple that day! I told him about what I had heard and he comforted me telling me that he would look at it afterwards, and would follow me home. What a comfort that was! That was blessing #1. We looked at my car together with a flashlight and we couldn't see anything, but again he said that he would stay right behind me to make sure that I got home ok.
About 5 minutes after we turned on to the freeway the noise started again and my rear tire blew. We later learned that the flapping noise was a screw that was inside of the tire and after it hitting the tire from the inside it finally blew a hole. My home teacher has a landscaping business and does plowing in the winter so he has a flashing light on the top of his truck, he pulled over behind me and flashed his lights (blessing #2). He came to look for my spare and saw it underneath my car but we could not find the bolt that lowered the tire...we looked everywhere! I told him that it was ok I had good car insurance coverage and that I would just call them and they would send a professional out. They insisted on waiting with me, but it was by this time about 9:30 and it was a school night. Luckily I had pawned off some of the youth I had had on the drive up to some other drivers that lived closer to them so I was only driving home 2 instead of 5 (blessing #3) so they were able to hop in my home teacher's truck and be taken home.
I waited for about an hour for my insurance to send out a tow truck, and when someone came his name was Edger and he was the nicest guy (blessing #4). He looked at the tire, and knew exactly how to get the spare down and when he looked at it he said, "lady this spare tire wouldn't have gotten you far, it's flat!" (blessing #5) If my home teacher would have replaced my tire with this spare tire, who knows how far I would have gotten or what would have happened! So it was a blessing that they couldn't figure it out! Edgar was able to put air in my spare and check it and make sure it wasn't going to go flat on my drive home. Then he replaced it and I was on my way. Blessing #6 was that it was raining hard on the way to the temple after we got out but had stopped as we left and there was no rain while I was on the side of the road waiting, but as soon as I pulled into my driveway (at midnight) the rain came back and poured. The rain had stopped during my ordeal!
I had prayed on my way to the temple that we would be protected and safe, and even though we had the inconvenience of a flat tire, I was protected and safe! I felt so calm during the whole ordeal and I could feel confidence coming into me that could have only come from my Father in heaven who was keeping me safe and answering my prayer that night. What are the odds that my home teacher and his wife were there that night and were willing and able to follow behind me and guide me in what to do as my car broke down! I was being watched over and all those other blessings are true testaments of His divine love for me. It was a experience I will never forget.
Another spiritual experience we had was this last summer when we were visiting our family in Rexburg. We met up with some of our dearest friends that we had when we were going to school at BYU-Idaho. They both happen to work for BYU-Idaho one in accounting, and the other in the continuing education department. There was a job opening up in the continuing education department, and our friends encouraged us to apply for it. Scott had an interview with the director and put in his resume, and we went home and waited to hear back from them. A couple weeks went by and he had made it into the top three candidates, and they wanted him to come back for another interview.
During the time we were waiting, we contemplated on quitting the army and moving to Rexburg. Of course we wanted to do this we could be close to my parents and brothers & sisters and only a days drive to Scott's family. We absolutely LOVE BYU-Idaho, and working for a institution that we are both alumni of and firm believers in seemed like a wonderful idea. In our hearts it seemed like a great fit for us, but as we took this decision to prayer, it just didn't feel all completely right. We felt nagging feelings come upon us, and something just didn't seem right, even though on paper it looked great. I struggled in my prayers because I wasn't getting the confirmation feeling that I had hoped for, so Scott and I decided to make the decision to stay in the army and then pray about that and see how we felt. Scott and I both felt an unbelievable closeness to Heavenly Father at this time and we both felt an assurance that we were to stay in our army adventure and that BYU-Idaho wasn't for us at this time. I felt the spirit so strong that Heavenly Father loves me and is mindful of our family, and we have a purpose to serve. I am so grateful for personal revelation!
It was devastating to share this news with our families, however. We made the mistake of telling them about the possibility of moving close, and getting them excited about it, then we had to disappoint them with the news that we were no longer pursuing the position in Rexburg. I felt so guilty for not taking the opportunity to live closer to family, but we couldn't deny the feelings and spiritual confirmations that we had. They of course were disappointed but were wonderfully supportive with our decision.
So we will see where the army takes us, we will learn, grow and serve with all of our hearts and see what God has in store for us along the way!
A couple months ago I was taking some youth on a temple trip (if you want to know what we were doing at the temple click on this link http://www.mormon.org/faq/proxy-baptisms), I had run some errands that day and had heard a weird noise in my car. Scott couldn't hear or see anything out of the ordinary, and I had thought that I should take his car on the trip, but then realized that that would be silly because I would need the extra seats that are in my car to haul the youth. I had a full car driving up to the temple (about 45 minutes away), and about ten minutes before getting there the noise got louder and was coming from the left rear of the car, it was what sounded like something was loose and flapping and hitting against the car. I thought that maybe it was the step to get into the car. I felt like I just needed to get to the temple and then I could take a look at it. We pulled in and were waiting for our session and who walked in but my home teacher (a member of our congregation who is assigned to look after and teach our family) and his wife! They were coming to participate with us at the temple that day! I told him about what I had heard and he comforted me telling me that he would look at it afterwards, and would follow me home. What a comfort that was! That was blessing #1. We looked at my car together with a flashlight and we couldn't see anything, but again he said that he would stay right behind me to make sure that I got home ok.
About 5 minutes after we turned on to the freeway the noise started again and my rear tire blew. We later learned that the flapping noise was a screw that was inside of the tire and after it hitting the tire from the inside it finally blew a hole. My home teacher has a landscaping business and does plowing in the winter so he has a flashing light on the top of his truck, he pulled over behind me and flashed his lights (blessing #2). He came to look for my spare and saw it underneath my car but we could not find the bolt that lowered the tire...we looked everywhere! I told him that it was ok I had good car insurance coverage and that I would just call them and they would send a professional out. They insisted on waiting with me, but it was by this time about 9:30 and it was a school night. Luckily I had pawned off some of the youth I had had on the drive up to some other drivers that lived closer to them so I was only driving home 2 instead of 5 (blessing #3) so they were able to hop in my home teacher's truck and be taken home.
I waited for about an hour for my insurance to send out a tow truck, and when someone came his name was Edger and he was the nicest guy (blessing #4). He looked at the tire, and knew exactly how to get the spare down and when he looked at it he said, "lady this spare tire wouldn't have gotten you far, it's flat!" (blessing #5) If my home teacher would have replaced my tire with this spare tire, who knows how far I would have gotten or what would have happened! So it was a blessing that they couldn't figure it out! Edgar was able to put air in my spare and check it and make sure it wasn't going to go flat on my drive home. Then he replaced it and I was on my way. Blessing #6 was that it was raining hard on the way to the temple after we got out but had stopped as we left and there was no rain while I was on the side of the road waiting, but as soon as I pulled into my driveway (at midnight) the rain came back and poured. The rain had stopped during my ordeal!
I had prayed on my way to the temple that we would be protected and safe, and even though we had the inconvenience of a flat tire, I was protected and safe! I felt so calm during the whole ordeal and I could feel confidence coming into me that could have only come from my Father in heaven who was keeping me safe and answering my prayer that night. What are the odds that my home teacher and his wife were there that night and were willing and able to follow behind me and guide me in what to do as my car broke down! I was being watched over and all those other blessings are true testaments of His divine love for me. It was a experience I will never forget.
Another spiritual experience we had was this last summer when we were visiting our family in Rexburg. We met up with some of our dearest friends that we had when we were going to school at BYU-Idaho. They both happen to work for BYU-Idaho one in accounting, and the other in the continuing education department. There was a job opening up in the continuing education department, and our friends encouraged us to apply for it. Scott had an interview with the director and put in his resume, and we went home and waited to hear back from them. A couple weeks went by and he had made it into the top three candidates, and they wanted him to come back for another interview.
During the time we were waiting, we contemplated on quitting the army and moving to Rexburg. Of course we wanted to do this we could be close to my parents and brothers & sisters and only a days drive to Scott's family. We absolutely LOVE BYU-Idaho, and working for a institution that we are both alumni of and firm believers in seemed like a wonderful idea. In our hearts it seemed like a great fit for us, but as we took this decision to prayer, it just didn't feel all completely right. We felt nagging feelings come upon us, and something just didn't seem right, even though on paper it looked great. I struggled in my prayers because I wasn't getting the confirmation feeling that I had hoped for, so Scott and I decided to make the decision to stay in the army and then pray about that and see how we felt. Scott and I both felt an unbelievable closeness to Heavenly Father at this time and we both felt an assurance that we were to stay in our army adventure and that BYU-Idaho wasn't for us at this time. I felt the spirit so strong that Heavenly Father loves me and is mindful of our family, and we have a purpose to serve. I am so grateful for personal revelation!
It was devastating to share this news with our families, however. We made the mistake of telling them about the possibility of moving close, and getting them excited about it, then we had to disappoint them with the news that we were no longer pursuing the position in Rexburg. I felt so guilty for not taking the opportunity to live closer to family, but we couldn't deny the feelings and spiritual confirmations that we had. They of course were disappointed but were wonderfully supportive with our decision.
So we will see where the army takes us, we will learn, grow and serve with all of our hearts and see what God has in store for us along the way!
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