Not the Nail

When I was little my parents told me a story about a man who was fixing his roof. He climbed up to the apex of his roof and began patching a hole. It was hard work and as he began to get tired he got a little careless. Suddenly he lost his balance and began to tumble down the roof! The man's first instinct was to pray, begging his Heavenly Father to save his life. Suddenly, in mid-prayer his pants caught on a nail and he stopped falling! Relieved he prayed, "Never-mind God, this nail saved me."

This story has stuck with me for a long time. Maybe Bryce got a good score on the GRE with his own great brain; maybe I found a great job during a recession without any help; maybe our car started because a random connection dried out by chance, just as we finished our prayer; Maybe my own lesson planning made my Sunday School lesson a success; maybe it was luck that we happened upon a couple whose car was stuck in the snow; maybe we were never exposed to Swine Flu when we had no health insurance; maybe it was the nail, but I don't believe it.

Timing, Tithing, Prayers and Faith

It is amazing to me how the Lord is mindful of my little life. He asks so little but is willing to give us so much. I know the Lord has been watching out for us and, lately, this has been especially evident concerning my job. During my interview they asked me a math question. It would have been a rather easy math question for someone who was not being eaten up with interview jitters, but the jitters were gnawing on the math part of my brain and I completely blanked. (The math part of my brain must be the most delicious because the jitters always strike there first.) I sat there dizzily scribbling pointless numbers on a paper pad, pretending to be figuring something out. The strange thing is that I heard someone say "Two" in the room. I thought it was the interviewer, but that couldn't be. Realizing that my random scribbles were never going to give me a solution, I surrendered, looked up and said "Two". Imagine my surprise when the interviewer told me that was right! I don't think the Lord would have forgotten me, but I am sure glad Mom McEwen looked at the clock and said a quick prayer for me at that time, because I have a testimony that He is mindful of our prayers. (Also if there is anyone qualified to send math help via the spirit it's Mom!)

The timing for this job was perfect when it came, and it is perfect now when I am leaving it. For those of you who didn't hear, I was approved for the Enhanced Voluntary Separation Program at work, Squee!!! (Everyone is going to have to start calling me 'Moneybags McEwen';) ) I was really surprised when I found out. The program seemed more like it was designed for tenured faculty, not lowly staff members like me, but I applied anyway because I knew I was leaving this summer. It has worked out wonderfully! I will be able to work until it is time to leave for Bryce's internship. (a different miracle for a different post :) ) I do not think for a moment that I would have been selected for this program if we had not been paying our tithing. The timing worked out too beautifully to have been coincidence or something I could have worked out myself.

Thank-you everyone, for your prayers in our behalf. I know that our Heavenly Father hears them! He is mindful of things as small as a math question for a little secretary (and not even a BYU secretary!!!) He knows me, He knows you and He knows things neither of us know right now. I have been thinking about my favorite chapter of scripture, 1 Peter Chapter 1. Where is says that whatever happens in this life we can rejoice because of our faith with is greater than gold. If He cares about something as measly as a severance check for me, something that will pass away like the gold in this chapter, how much more does He care for the part of me that is eternal? I cannot send a thank-you card to Him for these blessings, but I can strive to increase my faith and be more mindful of eternity, and less mindful of the world.

Oops, oops

Oops! Sorry, I accidentally posted a comic meant for my normal blog on this one! Things should be sorted out now. 

I had another oops yesterday. I went and met Bryce at BYU last night. When it was time to go home Bryce dropped me off at my car, (whose name is Myrtle.) We always try to beat each other home on occasions like this, and Bryce made it out of the parking lot almost before I had the car started. He would have been long gone but a red light let me catch up. This was particularly fortunate because when I caught up Bryce noticed that I had forgotten to turn my headlights on! (Don't look at me, don't look at my shame.) Myrtle is not the most noticeable car, especially in the dark, and I shuddered all the way home thinking about how dangerous it would have been for me to drive in all that dark, rainy traffic with no headlights. I am glad that we pray that we will travel safely, and glad that Heavenly Father listens.

p.s.

Bryce got home first, I blame this on the fact that I was shuddering and contemplating my nearly dangerous experience the whole way home.

p.s.s.

It just occurred to me that this headlights thing could make a good talk. Everyone has street-lights, the light of Christ. Having modern-day revelation to guide you, is like turning on the headlights. Personal revelation can illuminate things even more clearly, like turning on your brights.

Many Witnesses

This weekend I have been reminded in MANY small ways that the Lord really does know (and cares) about the very little as well as the very big concerns and details of our lives. I'll start with a seemingly small one -- but with so many witnesses maybe it's not so small after all...

Our stake young women leadership meeting is scheduled for November. I have been considering for several months what the Lord would have me give as a message. The YW leaders in our stake are so committed to the gospel, yet each has such a different (and varied) set of challenges in their calling. I'm sure each has a different set of circumstances and challenges in their family and personal life as well.

As I pondered the challenges that I knew the YW leaders face in our stake, and also realized there were probably many of which I was unaware, I sought the Lord in prayer for I knew he knew them all. I began to feel that there was one message that the Lord would have me share, and that was the power of worthily and meaningfully partaking of the sacrament each Sunday. October conference was approaching and I also prayed that my impressions would be confirmed, and that I would receive further understanding in the conference addresses.

My prayers were answered, and I gained an even stronger witness that this is what He would have me share. Elder Oaks' talk stood out as one of the main references, but there were others too with smaller mentions -- but each one I had been attuned to hear.

Fast forward after several weeks of pondering and studying about the sacrament.

My visiting teachers scheduled an appointment last night, for this (Sunday) afternoon. This weekend had been quite exhausting, (I MUST blog about several other parts of it) and included staying up an entire night, attending an all day camp meeting, and coming home to a call from Emery county sheriff's office that Trent was missing from his youth activity in Goblin Valley, and they would be sending out a search plane, and would be in contact with us when he was found.

By Sunday afternoon, though all had worked out well,(I promise to Blog about that too - but I'd really rather have Trent) I was still very exhausted, and really just wanted to take a nap. But it's not easy to catch me for an appointment, and my visiting teachers are so good to try, so I agreed to a visit.

My visiting teacher chose to review a conference talk that had touched her, as she read from the November Ensign. It was given in the priesthood session. I always glance through those talks as soon as they are posted on the church's website, but I had forgotten this one. It specifically spoke about the sacrament:

"By coming humbly and fully repentant to sacrament meeting and worthily partaking of the sacrament, we may feel those arms [of safety] again and again."

As my visiting teacher so sweetly reviewed the talk, I was filled with gratitude. Gratitude for my visiting teachers who care about me, and who follow the spirit, gratitude for another witness and help in knowing what the Lord would have me share with the YW leaders, and once again a deep gratitude for the Atonement of the Savior and the opportunity to access that cleansing and enabling power and His arms of safety, comfort, cleansing, and love.

This past Friday I didn't have work, (which is a tender mercy in its own right!) I planned to make some cookies to bring to the German class that Bryce teaches, but first I went with him in the morning to help with one of his assignments. Bryce went to his class and I hiked down to the car to head home and make cookies. When I located the car I realized, to my chagrin, that I had taken the Honda key off my keychain earlier that week (something I do not usually do.)

With no other option I began the trek back up to Bryce's class to get his key. Class wouldn't be over for another 38 minutes and I was hungry so I stopped by the Jamba Juice. While I was in there a lady came in, a little upset, looking for a pay phone to get a hold of her son that she was supposed to be meeting. I started to tell her that there are courtesy phones in most lobbies on campus when I suddenly realized, "Hey! You have a phone right here!" So I leant her my cell phone and she found her son.

I will probably never see this lady again, but on that Friday several unusual events fell into place to put us together at just the right time. I think Heavenly Father was looking out for his daughters knowing that one of us needed help finding her son, and one of us needed a chance to serve, so she would stop feeling sorry for herself because she had to walk back up to campus. :)

Angels Among Us

There are two things from last week I need to include:
1) I dropped my laptop (again), but somehow...the shoulder strap caught on my arm just millimeters before it hit the cement, and I knew there was one of those angels (that Elder Holland talked about in this month's conference)looking out for me.
2) Dad fell off the ladder last week -- while he was outside BY HIMSELF pruning the willow tree with a chainsaw! Luckily he didn't have the chainsaw when he fell, but he was on the very top of the ladder - with his feet at least 7 feet off the ground, when the ladder fell. He grabbed on to a branch of the tree -- but couldn't hold on, and then he fell too. How he wasn't seriously hurt is definitely a miracle -- much less that he wasn't even sore the next day!