Wonder of Wonder, Miracle of Miracles

These last couple weeks have been filled with wonderful stuff. First off,

CLINTON FINISHED HIS FIRST YEAR OF MEDICAL SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's right! I can now say that my husband is a second year medical student! The first message he sent me when his exams were complete said "The grass is greener, the sun is warmer, even food tastes better!" He has been free to sleep-in and rest. He has been laughing more and it is so nice to have my husband back! Congratulations Honey on a job well-done and one year under your belt!

The next set of miracles have been more apparent in my personal life.

I have been dealing with a series of health issues lately and wasn't sure how to deal with them. To keep a long blog short, I'll list what's happened in Cliffs Notes version...
1. As mentioned in previous posts, I have been having problems with my vision. I had been told that there was damage to my eye and it would need time to repair. This made me very nervous as I'm sure you can imagine since I only have the one eye left. I had my follow-up appointment a couple of weeks ago and my eye has completely healed! I can see again and I am so grateful!
2. In order to avoid extra personal details, suffice it to say, my cycle has not been regular ever, but especially since the beginning of this year. It became a large enough problem that I made a hasty appointment to some no-name doctor. This doctor wasn't very personable and wasn't really helping me solve my problem. She told I needed to see an OB/GYN and I was quickly scheduled with the first available doctor. She is a WONDERFUL doctor. She met with me regarding my current issues and asked questions about my long-term goals. She tried one treatment on me and it didn't work and told me I needed to have an MRI to make sure my brain was normal. This scared the crap out of me. I only know MRIs as necessary procedure when someone has a brain tumor or something else terminal. Here's where the miracle comes in...

***

Hold on, I need to preface this: A few weeks ago, before I started going to the doctor, I had Clinton give me a blessing. The blessing counseled me to go see a doctor and to trust in them to find the solution to my problem and to follow their counsel. A week or so later, when I found out I needed to have more testing done I talked to Clinton about my blessing and how I thought I might need another one. He gently reminded me that blessings are not a fortune teller, they are an ordinance and once the ordinance is given the blessing is complete. It is then up to our faith for the healing to take place. I thought about that for quite a while and studied up on it that evening.

I came across a talk by Pres. Faust called, "Spiritual Nutrients". In it he counsels us to incorporate the counsel of the scriptures into our daily lives. We need to shape our lives by what the scriptures teach and by doing so we will be blessed with a closeness to the Lord, an increase of our faith in Him and a better understanding of the answers to our prayers.

I then found a talk by Pres. Kimball called "President Kimball Speaks Out on Administration to the Sick". This talk is a great reference! Here are a few of my now-favorite quotes...

*

"It is felt that sometimes the holy ordinance is abused...It is felt by many that too frequent administrations may be an indication of lack of faith or of the ill one trying to pass the responsibility of faith development to the elders rather than self."
*
"It must be remembered that no physician can heal. He can only provide a satisfactory environment and situation so that the body may use its own God-given power of re-creation to build itself."
*
"It must be remembered that whether the Lord sees fit to heal instantaneously or gradually, whether it be through surgery and treatment or without it, the healing is still the Lord's miracle."

***

I am a hypochondriac. I worry about things that no normal person worries about. However, every time I thought about my MRI I knew I was going to be okay. That, in and of itself, is a miracle. I had brought to my mind certain phrases from my patriarchal blessing that reminded me that my life was nowhere near over. I went in for my MRI and was blessed with peace while the machine banged and squealed all around me (for 40 minutes, I might add). I was called about my results and my brain is normal! There were no growths or abnormalities and she said that my cycle issues can be fixed with medication! The other "hidden" miracle to this is that an infertility issue (solvable) has been found! We would have had no idea had this scan not been made. What a miracle!
3. I really love my job but have been struggling with working with one of the doctors. It was so bad a few weeks ago that I had to meet with my supervisor to see if she had any recommendations for me. (I had been praying for help to read this doctor's mind and do a good job.) My supervisor offered for my coworker (who is paid the most and has the most time on her hands) to take him on instead. I thought about it and began to pray about it. As soon as I started to pray I felt an answer, "Don't you already realize this IS the answer to your prayers?" The last couple weeks since the change have been wonderful! And you know what? He has been so much nicer to me! He has even been coming to me for assistance with some projects instead of my coworker which is a HUGE compliment to me! Yeah for miracles!
4. A couple Fridays ago I went home sick from work with a really bad stomach ache/nausea. I was sick for 3 days. After I read the articles listed above, I prayed specifically for my faith to be strong enough to remember all of the times I'd been healed and to be healed again, in a quick way. Almost from the moment I finished I felt better. The next day at work, I was back to normal. Before I had started my prayer I was still quite sick...this truly was a miracle!
5. The other day I went grocery shopping and ended up shopping at a store in a "sketchy" part of town. At first I found myself beginning to judge the people walking in, I was the only white person, but I didn't. I had a feeling of brotherhood with them. I did my grocery shopping, put my groceries away in my car and walked back up to the front of the store to return my cart. As I was walking back to my car I heard the security guard (yes, this store has a security guard) call out to me. I turned and saw him holding my wallet! He asked if it was mine. Shocked, I replied "yes!" he said that someone had found it in the parking lot and brought it in. All my cards, ID and $20 cash were still in there. It just goes to show that you really can't judge a book by its cover!
6. Lastly, last week I took Peter to the park to play fetch with his favorite toy "Squeaky". On my last throw I looked away for a second and lost track of where the ball had landed. Peter was looking all over for it and couldn't find it. I walked over to meet him where I thought it may have landed. I LOOKED EVERYWHERE! I scanned the same areas about 4 times each. I said a quick prayer pleading with Heavenly Father to have mercy on this pup and to help me find his favorite toy. After another 5 minutes of searching I decided it must have been lost and started to walk back home. I stopped by a family that was playing on the equipment nearby and asked if they had by chance seen his toy. The father said he saw Peter pick it up, drop it and the next moment he saw us looking for it. I decided to go back one more time and see if I could find it. I again said a quick prayer and I looked in all the same areas again. I couldn't find it. I started to walk back when I heard a man call behind me "Ma'am?" I turned around to see who it was, but no one was there. I looked down for a second to catch my footing as I started to walk home and right in front of my foot was Peter's toy! I know I walked over that exact area several times, but this time I was looking with the eyes of the Lord. I couldn't believe it! The Lord cared not only for me, but for my little dog too!

Sorry for the overly-long post, but I just had so much to say. I really have been blessed by the Lord and am so grateful for opportunities to see miracles in my life. They exist today just as much as they ever have!