All 34 staples came out nicely!One of the many lessons I’ve learned through this trial is the power of united prayer. After the crucifixion of the Savior, the disciples gather together and “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren” (Acts 1:14). In our own dispensation the Lord instructed, “And, as it is written--Whatsoever ye shall ask in faith, being united in prayer according to my command, ye shall receive” (D&C 29:6).
I’ve read and heard these things all my life and thought it was all about petitioning God in prayer and that the more praying the more influence it had for good. But during this experience, I literally felt the prayers sustaining me. It is not just about petitioning. It is about the faith of one person being exercised in behalf of another person and that faith empowering the one in need. I wish I had the words to explain it, but I can testify that it is very real.
Growing up in the faith, I’ve often encountered people who approach a trial and try to keep it secret. They don’t want to bother others or they worry about others bothering them. For some reason, they want to go it alone. There may be some valid concerns, but after what has happened in my behalf I can’t even begin to express how much we need each other. We weren’t meant to go it alone. We need the Savior. We need family. We need friends. I think this is one reason the Lord has put us in assigned wards so that we are close enough to know of each other’s needs and so we can learn to take care of each other. Everything in the Church points to that fact: home teaching, visiting teaching, serving each other, teaching each other in the organizations of the Church, and priesthood blessings to name just a few. We are meant to be an intimate ward family and an extended stake family.
But some of us are so afraid of opening up and being vulnerable that we shut out the very help we need. I know with my whole heart that I would not have the vision in my left eye without the faith and prayers of others. That faith guided the doctors and sustained me. Faith isn’t meant to be a lone, silent endeavor. Faith is meant to be shared and the more we share it and experience it the more it grows.
As I watch my hair slowly grow back, I'm going to consider it to be symbolic of the growth this experience has been to my faith!
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5 comments:
I'm thankful that you could feel our prayers sustaining you. I'm especially thankful that you can still see. And I liked what you wrote about your hair growing back. :) I hope 2009 will be a great year for you!
Well said. I'm always so empowered by those who are willing to share. I don't want to feel alone, with the bad or the good.
I am glad that our prayers have been answered in your behalf. I'm grateful that we don't always have to go it alone through our trials. I, too, have tangibly felt the faith and prayers of family and friends when I had to undergo surgery for a very sick gall bladder. I felt loved and blessed with comfort in knowing that everything will turn out just fine. My surgeon wouldn't operate until my amylase count came down from 3,000+ to 100 - 300 counts. Your surgery was much more serious than mine. I am thankful for the priesthood and that my husband gave me a blessing, so that I could sleep through the night.
You are an inspiration to me! May 2009 be a wonderful year for you.
Wow you are powerful. What a gift you have. I feel the same way. We must unite and sustain each other in pray, faith and love. You have been such a blessing in my life. I love you!
Wow you are powerful. What a gift you have. I feel the same way. We must unite and sustain each other in pray, faith and love. You have been such a blessing in my life. I love you!
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