A simple prompting…a powerful lesson

I had planned on doing something tonight but for reason or another, it didn’t happen. Instead I found myself thinking. Thinking about experiences, thinking about life, thinking about people…just basically thinking. I opened my journal and began to leaf through the pages. As I read, my heart was touched with so much gratitude for the many things that I have learned throughout my life ranging from people that I have met, situations I have been in and most of all the experiences that I have felt with my heart.

Tonight, I would like to share with you one experience that happened a couple of months ago. As I think back to that day, my heart feels with so much gratitude not because of what I experienced but what I learned. I still remember what I was doing, where I was when one of the most amazing tutoring sessions happened. It definitely has been part of my heart.

Leading up to this particular moment, life had been pretty hectic and I felt like I was being pulled here and there. I had so much on my mind and so many people needing me to do things that I hadn’t had a moment to myself in quite a few days. Finally, I was alone in my home. It was quiet and peaceful. As I took a moment to sit down and ponder the many things that I had going through my mind, my thoughts turned to a dear friend of mine. I had a strong impression that I needed to share three things with her. But knowing that it would be easier to have her contact me than having me contact her, I began to pray.

Our friendship had been a tad bit rocky. I will be the first to admit that I can be stubborn at times. Believe me; I know that I can be stubborn. It isn’t a quality that I am proud of but at least I know that I can admit it. Anyway, over the years, I have realized that if there is a conflict in our friendship, I need to be patient and let her make the first step. When she does make that step, we can (usually) have a productive conversation and work things out. On the other hand, if I make the call, the defense flags are thrown high in the air…not only by her but by me too. It is so much easier when she makes the call.

So…like I said before, I began to pray. I asked that she would feel a prompting to call me. I knew that I needed to share three things with her. The evening progressed and I still hadn’t received a phone call. I continued to pray. Each time I did, I felt like I needed to wait. Wait for her to call. I waited and waited.

As I was getting ready for bed, I had a thought to send her an email containing the three things that I felt prompted to share. I sat down with my laptop and begin to write. The words came freely. I poured out my heart. I emailed it to her, turned my laptop off, and quietly climbed into bed. I had been asleep for a couple of hours when I heard my phone chime letting me know that I had an email waiting in my inbox.

I opened the email and read her response. She said that she had had a prompting to call me. In fact, she said that she had scrolled down to my name and all she had to do was hit the call button but instead, she closed her phone and chose not to call. I could feel the tears starting to flow as I read her email. I became angry…angry that she would ignore a prompting. I was so confused. I know that I needed to share things with her. Feelings of sadness, anger, and confusion swept over me. I couldn’t understand why someone would ignore a prompting. I was angry at her. I was confused. I couldn’t sleep. I had to do something. I went downstairs and started to clean an already clean kitchen. As I was sweeping the floor for the billionth time, I had this amazing peaceful feeling come over me. It was incredible. I was gently reminded that my prayers had been listened to and that the Spirit had directed the prompting to my dear friend but she chose not to act on it.

Then, I heard quietly within in my mind and gently in my heart…I have given everyone their free agency, what they do with it, is up to them. We all have our free agency. We can choose to act on promptings or not. As I pondered the thoughts that filled my mind and entered in my heart, I realized that my prayers had been answered. He had delivered the prompting but it was not acted upon. I did what I was supposed to do. He didn’t let me down.

Why was I angry? I didn’t have any reason to be angry. I had heeded to the prompting that I received and I shared with my friend the three things that I felt inspired to share. I was prompted therefore; I acted. I did not need to be angry or feel any type of sadness. I was so grateful for the peace that I felt.

As I have pondered this experience time and time again, I know that I have been taught a great lesson. How many times have I received a prompting and ignored it? How many times have I been too frightened to act upon it? Were those promptings to do something or to say something an answer to someone’s plea to our Heavenly Father for help? I know that since this experience, I have tried to act on the promptings that I have received. I know that some have been way out of my comfort zone and others have been simple in task but I know that they have been promptings…promptings which have helped me understand who I am. Some are simple promptings that may be answers to others prayers. I am so grateful for this amazing experience. It has definitely helped me gain a stronger relationship with our Heavenly Father.

~Michelle

Thursday’s Thoughts…something I need to post and read often

“I feel to invite women everywhere to rise to the great potential within you. I do not ask that you reach beyond your capacity. I hope you will not nag yourselves with thoughts of failure. I hope you will not try to set goals far beyond your capacity to achieve. I hope you will simply do what you can do in the best way you know. If you do so, you will witness miracles come to pass.”
― Gordon B. Hinckley

A moment when my faith grew stronger…

So…I am still at the beginning and still singing that amazing song from The Sound of Music. Did you know that that movie is almost three hours long? A couple of nights ago, I was struggling with the concept of sleep so, I grabbed my laptop and watched it. AW…it was the best three hours that I have had in a long time. OK, maybe not the best three hours but… close to it.

A memory just popped into this little brain of mine. Do you want to know which memory? I knew that you would. So let me share it with you…

The day after the funeral, I started to not feel very well. At first, I chalked it up to not having enough sleep and experiencing a huge range of emotions in such a short amount of time. I am not sure what it was but you know when your body is starting to share with your mind that something isn’t right. I happened to be talking on the phone to a dear friend of mine and mentioned to her that I wasn’t feeling too hot. I told her that I probably should end the phone call and get ready for bed. As soon as I hung up the phone, I knew that something was wrong. I had a fever, I had chills, I became dizzy and immediately I started throwing up. For the next 8 hours, I threw up. I am not saying just a couple of times…I mean every 5 minutes for 8 hours. No matter what I tried to do…sips of water, sucking on ice chips, saltine crackers, Pepto Bismol…nothing relieved it. The only time that I felt relief was during the moments that I was laying on the cold tile in my bathroom which only happened for a brief moment after each episode.  It was awful. (Thanks for an extremely clean bathroom). I couldn’t stop even when there was nothing left in my entire body, I couldn’t stop. Something was definitely wrong and I was getting scared as the hours passed by. I didn’t know what else to do.

Since I was already kneeling, I offered a sincere prayer to our Heavenly Father. I was scared and I needed His help. At this point, I wasn’t sure if I needed to go to the hospital. I couldn’t stop throwing up. I was getting nervous and I was getting more scared as the minutes ticked away. A strong feeling came over me that urged me to call my dad and ask for a priesthood blessing. Not wanting to wake my parents up in the middle of the night, I continued to pray (and throw up). The feeling of calling my dad came several times and each time it came, it was stronger than it had been before. I knew that I needed some help.

Finally, shortly before 6 am, I called my parents. I explained what had been happening for the past 8 hours. Minutes later, my parents arrived with Sprite and Pepto in hand. My dad laid his hands on my head and gave me a beautiful and inspired blessing. I received the most powerful and amazing sense of peace and the comfort that I felt was overwhelming. Our Heavenly Father was aware of what was going on in my life. He had heard my pleas for help. He was there for me. As my dad spoke, I truly was being tutored by the Spirit. I am grateful for the moments when my heart and mind are open and the Spirit can speak directly to me. I was promised that I would heal and that all would return back to normal. I knew that I needed to have the faith that all would be ok.

Shortly after my parents left, I cuddled up in my blankets and drifted off to sleep. I slept and slept. I don’t think that I have slept that good or that long in a very long time. When I woke up, even though I felt weak, I could feel my body start to heal. As I was cuddling with my blankets, my thoughts turned to the blessing that I had just received. The comfort and peace that I felt during the blessing was still present. I am grateful for a strong testimony of the power of priesthood blessings. I am grateful that I have a dad that is worthy and willing to be an instrument in the Lord’s hand. I am grateful for the tenderness that was shown towards me. I know that through faith and through this amazing blessing that I began to heal. Even though it took several days to finally feel like I could eat and feel somewhat normal, I knew that all would be well. I was promised and with that I my faith grew a little bit stronger.

~Michelle

Hello…it has been awhile!!

Hello….

I love my sweet little niece!!

It has been awhile…a long while. Tonight, I had a few minutes so I thought that I would take a look at my blog. January 12th? Serious? Where does the time go? Oh my goodness, where do I start? I have so many thoughts, would you like to hear (read) them? So…where do I start?

All of a sudden, a certain scene from The Sound of Music starts playing in my head and the excitement of turning on that movie, curling up with my blankets and drifting off to Austria for the evening is enticing.

Let’s start at the very beginning
A very good place to start
When you read you begin with a-b-c
When you sing you begin with do-re-mi

You are starting to sing it, aren’t you?

So, let’s go back to about the time that I went missing from the blog world. January 12th.  Ok…so, a few days later on January 18^th, I was sitting at my desk looking at the clock and thinking that in a couple of hours I would be headed to Springville to watch one of my sweet young women play in the Springville vs. Provo High Basketball game. Growing up in Springville, LOVING the game of basketball, enjoying watching one of my sweet dear friends play was bringing on a great deal of excitement as the time passed. I had just made a comment to a friend of mine about how much time we had left of the work week and how much time it would be until we were seated in that amazing gym of Springville High when my phone rang. It was my mom. She was crying hysterically as she relayed the news of a tragic death that happened in our family. Panic was filling my heart, tears were starting to well up in my eyes and all I could think of was how it was going to affect my sweet little niece. She adored her uncle so much.

I left work. I couldn’t think straight. I had to get out of my office. As I was driving my car, I received an amazing peace. Peace and comfort filled my heart as I was gently reminded that there is a plan. Each one of us has our own individual plan. Our Eternal Father in Heaven knows each of us individually. He knows what is in our hearts. He knows what is in our thoughts. Through this amazing plan, we are able to be with our loved ones again. My thoughts turned to a little five-year-old. How will she understand? How will she know that everything will be ok? How do you it explain something like this to her?

I met up with Mom and Dad at Brylie’s bus stop. She jumped off the bus and came towards us. She was full of hugs and kisses but there was something different. She was quiet. She was peaceful. As I buckled her in the car seat, she asked how her dad was. I told her that he was fine and that he was at work. (Ok, so I told a little white lie—I didn’t want to tell her anything. It wasn’t my place and I surely did not want to be the one that shares any sad news with her). She said that he was not at work as she looked at me with a puzzled look. Then, she looked at me and said, “Grandma Nita is sad but Mike will be ok”.

What?

How did she know? I know that my mom and dad didn’t tell her. I didn’t tell her. I am pretty sure the bus driver hadn’t received any news. How did she know?

She was extremely quiet as we drove back to Provo. I tried talking to her but she was in her own little world. She was somewhere distant. Then all of a sudden, I hear a faint little song coming from the most amazing angel sitting in my backseat.

I am a child of God,
And he has sent me here,
Has given me an earthly home
With parents kind and dear.

Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday

This amazing little girl has touched my life in so many ways that it is difficult to even comprehend.. She has been such an incredible blessing in my life and to everyone that she comes in contact with. She already knew about the plan. She knew that everything would be ok. I was able to witness this many times throughout the next week as she comforted those around her. She knew that Mike will be ok. She knew that her mom would be ok. She knew that her grandma would be ok. She just knew it. No one had to tell her. She just knew it.

Later that evening, we did end up going to the basketball game. While her parents were making funeral plans, we were watching an amazing young woman play a game of basketball. Miss B needed a distraction. My mom needed a distraction.  I needed one too.  Miss B sat next to me and every time a basket was made (it didn’t matter which team made it) she would cheer. As I sat and watched her, I could see and feel the amazing peace that surrounded her. Wouldn’t it be great to have that peace all of the time, to truly understand the really important things I life and to accept it?

After the game, we cheered for our sweet friend. She noticed that we were there and climbed up to where we were standing. She reached over and gave me a hug. Brylie looked at her, reached up and gave her one too. We all needed those hugs from her today. Aw…we really did. Something so simple brought a great amount of comfort that night. Isn’t it awesome when people are genuinely kind and loving…their everyday actions bring comfort to those in need without even knowing what they are doing it. 

As we were walking back to the car, Miss B commented that she really loves that girl because she is beautiful. She is truly beautiful and very special to me even more so that she touched the life of my sweet niece. I love the peace that I feel when things are incredibly… beautiful.

Guess what Miss B? You truly are beautiful too. Inside and out!! Thank you for teaching me so much!! I truly appreciate it…more than you will ever comprehend. But, on the other hand, you probably already know it…you are just so in tune.

~Michelle

Aw…it is my birthday!!!

Hi…today is my birthday!! WOOT!! WOOT!! It was filled with a great amount of warm fuzzies. I was spoiled 100 percent and at this moment, I am completely overwhelmed with happy thoughts!! I love my family and friends. I arrived at work and found my desk decorated with amazing decorations and fantastic presents. Aw…I was spoiled!!!  Thanks Vieve for making my day at work simply amazing!!  Breakfast…Kneaders.  Lunch…The Brick Oven.  Dinner with my family at Texas Roadhouse.  (I am not sure that I want to eat ever again…so much delicious food).  Aw…today has been great!!

There definitely wasn’t any room to work.  What a delightful day!!

Aw…I love being spoiled!!!

Thank you dear family and friends for helping me celebrate another year.  I love life and today was one of the best days ever!!

~Michelle

It was a delightful day at our Camp Kick-off Carnival!

For our Annual Camp Kick-off/First-aid Training, we decided to have a carnival.  Let me just stay that it was amazing!!  Each ward was in charge of a booth.  At each booth, the young women were taught first-aid skills that prepared them for young women’s camp.  Since the wards were teaching this year, I had the opportunity to enjoy the event.  I do love to teach but this time it was fun to just observe.  I brought my camera and I took plenty of pictures.  I felt like I was the papparazzi!!  It was awesome.  Would you like to see some of the pictures I took…I knew you would. 

Let’s start off with the skit…the Stake YCLs put together a darling skit on the “Do’s and Don’ts at Young Women’s camp. 

 

Would you like to see some of the creative booths….

How about the food…

There were plenty of smiles…

Aw…what a delightful day!!  I am grateful for the energy and time that the young women leaders in our stake sacrificed.  I truly appreciate them…words can’t even describe it.  Thank you!!

~Michelle

P.S.  I do have 256 more pictures if you would like to see them.

Happy Valentines day!!

When I arrived at work, setting on my desk was this intriguing adorable red box.

As I opened it, my heart did a back flip…

CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES AND APPLES!!

My dearest sweet friend, Vieve, gave me a Valentines gift. Thank you…you just made my whole day!!!

Happy Valentines day!

~Michelle