In August me, my mom, sister Heidi, niece Allison and nephew Gavin took a road trip. We drove through Utah and up to Idaho to visit my Dads family.This was the first trip that my sister and I had taken with my mom just by ourselves. Or shall I say the first LONG trip my mom has taken with her daughters. And luckily 2 of her grandchildren to. What a great time being able to bond more with each other.We had great conversations and were able to visit with my MORTIMER family, as well as visit the newly built Rexburg, Idaho Temple.
REXBURG, IDAHO Temple
We believed and prayed that the presence of my Dad would be with us at all times during this journey.Since we were going back to his hometown. As most of you know I started attending church again awhile back, but with conflicting work schedules and lack of time being able to spend with my husband I was not always able to attend each and every Sunday.
This trip was a Blessing waiting to happen.
As most of you know my sister and I are married to Non-members of the church. So at times that can make it very difficult to make decisions especially if we want to discuss religion. How can it not be when at times in our lives when we met our now spouses we were INACTIVE members of the church.On our way home from Idaho we spent one night in Salt Lake City. We wanted to be able to walk around Temple Square and go through the visitors center.My cousins Melissa and Jori joined us. I was so excited to go and to be able to experience walking through with my mom and sister we had not gone through there in over 20 years together,also my niece and nephew who have never been there.
I felt the spirit of the Lord with me as we walked through reading the purpose of life and watching the videos at the visitor center. I loved seeing my sister and niece so humble and interested in the literature around us. What a beautiful building and seeing The Salt Lake Temple at night was incredible.
HE LOVES US......
The next morning as we were getting ready to leave Salt Lake City and continue our journey home my sister came out of the restroom and had a "moment" is all I can say that she said My Dad is with us and was with us at that very moment. Tears started streaming down my cheeks as well as my niece Allison who was 3 years old when my dad passed away. My sister was almost in a different state of mind at that moment, as if a still small voice was whispering to her she said she felt her entire body full of a good weight of energy and a tingling of some kind.Now most know that my sister has Brain Cancer so at first my mom thought maybe something was happening like she did not take her medicine..but she said no, she was not having that kind of feeling, she said it was my Dad,she could clearly hear him saying tell them I have been here all along. I don't doubt in any way that my Dad was there with her and all of us at that moment, and that she heard his voice tell him to send us that message, but a part of me also believes that THE STILL SMALL VOICE, was our Redeemer and Lord, Jesus Christ sending a message. A message of Love, Acceptance, and Strength to enlighten us and build our hearts to know that we belong as members of The Church, whether our husbands choose to our not. That we are daughters of God and that we have a purpose. Although we have made our own choices in life, he will always forgive us if we Repent, and accept.
I thank God and my DAD who has always been a member of the church for Blessing us with that trip as a family, and allowing us to understand that when we are ready, the gospel is there for us.
We returned from our trip to Utah on Sunday August 16,2010 which would have been my Dads 65th birthday, and on Saturday August 28th, I got a text message from my sister that said she and my niece Allison were going to church on Sunday with my mom, and of course I was joining them.
Today marks the 2nd Sunday that we have all eagerly awaken and go with a willingness to learn and worship thee.What a great abundance of joy I feel in sharing the gospel experience with my mom, sister, and my niece which whom has been curious of religion for quite sometime now.
The next morning as we were getting ready to leave Salt Lake City and continue our journey home my sister came out of the restroom and had a "moment" is all I can say that she said My Dad is with us and was with us at that very moment. Tears started streaming down my cheeks as well as my niece Allison who was 3 years old when my dad passed away. My sister was almost in a different state of mind at that moment, as if a still small voice was whispering to her she said she felt her entire body full of a good weight of energy and a tingling of some kind.Now most know that my sister has Brain Cancer so at first my mom thought maybe something was happening like she did not take her medicine..but she said no, she was not having that kind of feeling, she said it was my Dad,she could clearly hear him saying tell them I have been here all along. I don't doubt in any way that my Dad was there with her and all of us at that moment, and that she heard his voice tell him to send us that message, but a part of me also believes that THE STILL SMALL VOICE, was our Redeemer and Lord, Jesus Christ sending a message. A message of Love, Acceptance, and Strength to enlighten us and build our hearts to know that we belong as members of The Church, whether our husbands choose to our not. That we are daughters of God and that we have a purpose. Although we have made our own choices in life, he will always forgive us if we Repent, and accept.
I thank God and my DAD who has always been a member of the church for Blessing us with that trip as a family, and allowing us to understand that when we are ready, the gospel is there for us.
We returned from our trip to Utah on Sunday August 16,2010 which would have been my Dads 65th birthday, and on Saturday August 28th, I got a text message from my sister that said she and my niece Allison were going to church on Sunday with my mom, and of course I was joining them.
Today marks the 2nd Sunday that we have all eagerly awaken and go with a willingness to learn and worship thee.What a great abundance of joy I feel in sharing the gospel experience with my mom, sister, and my niece which whom has been curious of religion for quite sometime now. I thank my husband who although has no desire to investigate or take part in my journey of being a member and becoming ACTIVE again accepts my decision even when he may feel its a burden on his Sunday in me spending quality time with him with my long work hours. I know that God will bless not only me, but my home life as well.
I thank my brother-in-law Bruce who also does not take part in our beliefs has accepted that my sister has the desire to return to church.
I am also blessed to have a wonderful niece Allison (not that all my nieces are not wonderful,because they are)who has the desire to learn of our religion and has a open heart and mind to possibly one day embrace it.
This has been a blessing and prayers that I believe are being answered.I believe that my Dad had a lending hand at this very time in our lives when Faith and Hope and the gospel is so essential to our daily lives. When my Dad passed away there was a song we sang that has a lot of meaning. At this time in my life and what I believe my sisters life this song holds even MORE meaning:
I know that my Redeemer Lives
What comfort this sweet sentence gives
He lives! He lives who once was dead
He lives! My ever-living friend
He lives! To bless me with his love
He lives! To plead for me above
He lives! My hungry soul to feed
He lives! To bless in time of need
He lives! To grant me
He lives! To guide me with his light
He lives! To comfort me when faint
He lives! To hear my souls complaint
He lives! To silence all my fears
He lives! To wipe away my tears
He lives! To calm my troubled heart
He lives! With blessings to impart
****HE LIVES I KNOW MY SAVIOR LIVES.....
I FEEL MY SAVIORS LOVE, THE LOVE HE FREELY GIVES ME!!!!!!
**I felt the spirit of the Lord with us during that trip, and pray that my testimony will grow stronger in time***
Thank you to all my friends who have always helped me along the way in reassuring me that Things happen in life for a reason, and its OK.
What a beautiful blog entry Erika. I am so happy for you that your husband and brother in law are accepting and understanding of your and your sisters desires to go to church. They sound like amazing men. :)
ReplyDeleteThat was beautiful Erika. You basically just wrote down your testimony in this post. Very inspiring. Thank you for sharing. Satan truly doesnt want you to do this journey. He will be obstacles in your way. Dont let him win. You've got too many people here (and not with us now) on your side. Love you Erikaka
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy to hear you share your testimony, as Laura put it. It really is true that you have just testified of the Savior's love in your life. The Spirit can be so strong when you allow it, but in this busy and hectic life we live everyday we forget to allow Him or listen to Him speak to us. I love reading about your trip and about your desire to continue going to church. The joy and blessings that result from your efforts will make you never want to stop. Love the music on your blog too!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Leslie