Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for these two little munchkins who never fight and are always this sweet and loving. hahaha. Every now and then, Josh is dying to take picture's. Don't tell, but he is getting a little camera for Christmas!

I am thankful for my wonderful husband and Tyler who always wakes up on the right side of the crib.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I found this story a few days ago, and I hadn't read it in over 2 years. When I came across this story, Dave and I were living in Grenada. It was at a time when I thought life was really hard. I was sick and tired of not having hot water, of having my cupboards filled with ants, and with going days without having basics such as milk and eggs. I was sick of sweating day and night and was beyond frustrated while trying to help my son who had a horrible ear infection for 2 months that wouldn't go away despite all our efforts. It was hard, no doubt about it. But then, I read this story and I read it again and again and again. It is a story I will never forget. Although it sounds depressing, it is inspiring and wonderful to make us stop and count our blessings.

The following is a true story of a n LDS woman President Benson met following one meeting with members who had suffered through World War II.
The sister had “burlap sacks wrapped around her feet and legs in place of shoes. Even these were now in shreds. Her clothing was patched and tattered…This good sister had lived in East Prussia. During the final days of the frightful battles in that area, her husband had been killed. She was left with four small children, one of them a babe in arms. Under the agreements of the occupying powers, she was one of 11 million Germans who was required to leave her homeland and all her basic possessions, and go to Western Germany to seek a new home. She was permitted only to take such bare necessities, bedding, etc. as she could load into her small wooden-wheeled wagon-about sixty-five pounds in all-which she pulled across this desolate wasteland of war. Her smallest child she carried in her arms while the other small children did their best to walk beside her during this trek of over a thousand miles on foot.
“She started her journey in late summer. Having neither food nor money among her few possessions, she was forced to gather subsistence from the fields and forests along the way. Constantly she was also faced with dangers from panicky refugees and marauding troops.
“Soon the snows came and temperatures dropped to about 40 below zero. One by one her children died, either frozen to death or the victims of starvation, or both. She buried them in shallow graves by the roadside, using a tablespoon as a shovel. Finally, as she was reaching the end of her journey, her last little child died in her arms. Her spoon was gone now, so she dug a grave in the frozen earth with her bare fingers.
“As she was recalling these and other difficulties at a testimony meeting, she explained that her grief at that moment became unbearable. Here she was kneeling in the snow at the graveside of her last child. She had now lost her husband and all her children. She had given up all her earthly goods, her home, and ever her homeland. She found herself among people whose condition resembled her own wretched state of affairs.
“In this moment of deep sorrow and bewilderment, she felt her heart would break. In despair she contemplated how she might end her own life as so many of her fellow countrymen were doing. How easy it would be to jump off a nearby bridge, she thought, or to throw herself in front of an oncoming train!
“Then she testified that as these thoughts assailed her, something within her said, ‘Get down on your knees and pray.’ And she then rapturously explained how she prayed more fervently than she had ever prayed before.
In conclusion, she bore a glorious testimony, stating that of all ailing people in her saddened land she was one of the happiest because she knew that God lived, that Jesus is the Christ, and that if she continued faithful and true to the end she would be saved in the celestial kingdom of God.” (Frederick W. Babblel, On Wings of Faith, pp. 41-42).

What a story. What a testimony. It brings me to tears every time I begin to think about this degree of suffering in the world. I hope and pray I will never have to experience such unbelievable hardships, but I also hope that if I do, I will have the faith of this great woman. The most beautiful thing about this story is the fact that even if every loved one and every possession is taken from us, there is nothing that can take away our testimonies of Jesus Christ. We have the truth. We have His gospel. The love of Christ can carry us through our darkest times. This knowledge, is greater and worth far more than anything this world has to offer. I am so grateful to know that I have a loving Father in Heaven who sent His son, Jesus Christ to atone for my sins. It is my testimony that we may be filled with joy, peace, and love when we allow our Savior to be at the center of our lives.