Women's Conference

Last weekend I took a quick trip to Seattle- without kids! Woah! It was a super quick trip- only 48 hours- but I had the opportunity to go to a Women's Conference with my mom and sisters, and what could be better? We stayed in a hotel downtown and had some great time together! Plus, I got to have lunch at an awesome restaurant overlooking the waterfront with a dear friend. It was a great trip!
Here are some quotes from the speakers that I really enjoyed and want to remember:

Sheri Dew: "If we could unleash the power of covenant seeking woen, the world would change overnight."
(no, she wasn't there, but she was quoted)

Michael McLean: "I'm only as happy as my least happy kid."

"In the pre-mortal experience, God presented a plan. He said, 'half of you have to hold the priesthood, and half of you have to have babies. Men, you get to choose first."

Dean Hughes: "The scriptures don't teach us to be better than others, just to be better."

"A man only has so much testerone, and if he wants to spend it on growing hair, then that's his choice."

"It's OK to be average!"

"Your gifts may be important, but not as important as your family."

"We need to get the vision of what life is about."

Merry River (referencing the loss of a child): "I know everything will be OK eventually, but that doesn't mean everything is OK right now."

Gordon B. Hinckley (no, he wasn't there either): "People wonder what we do for our women.  I'll tell you what we do: we get out of their way and watch with wonder."

Merilee Boyack: "Your descendants won't care what you wore or your job. But, they will care that you were eternally minded."

"We can reject Satan's message of selfishness."

Whew, and that sums up the great weekend!

WOO-HOO!!!

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I couldn't wait to see it for myself: My dad healthy, happy, and unofficially cancer free!!! (They won't officially say he is cancer free for another 5 years, but the cancer did not spread at all, and the surgery to remove the tumor was successful, so I am calling him cancer free because it sounds OH SO GOOD!)

There were a couple of things that I wanted to say about this horrible chapter in our lives- a chapter that will never truly be over for my dad because in order to remove the tumor they did a rather horrible surgery that is a life changing surgery, but better than the alternatives.

Anyway, both of these things happened after we found out my dad had cancer, but before we knew how treatable it was.

The night my mom called me to tell me my dad had cancer, I was obviously devastated. But, I had a meeting to go to so I couldn't wallow. I went to the meeting and then came home and called my dad to see how he was doing. The FIRST thing he said to me- the day he found out he had cancer- was "how is your mom holding up?" She is the one who had called everyone and told everyone and he wanted to know how SHE was doing, even though he was the one with cancer. When I say my parents have the greatest love story, it is simply because it is true. I hope Ben and I can be as in love as these two are in 40 years and love each other so completely and unconditionally! What an example and legacy they have given their kids of true love!!!

The second thing is regarding the love our Heavenly Father has for each of us. This is my testimony here, so listen up:)

Before we found out what stage of cancer he was in, I needed to go and clear my head and I desparately needed to feel the Spirit of God in my heart. I made arrangements to attend the Temple- a place of worship and peace. I prayed harder than I had in a long time that the Lord would bless my father and help my mom be strong for the trial of cancer. I pleaded for my dad that he would be alright and that my children would have their Grandpa High to know and love and be a part of their lives.

I was overwhelmed with a feeling of peace- a feeling that whatever the outcome of this cancer would be, the Lord was watching over my parents and over my family and He was with us in this trial. Whatever happened, whatever the outcome was to be, I knew it was OK. Even if that meant he would die- I knew the Lord was in this. God is in the details of our lives- He cares about what happens, and He will lift us through any trial- even death. I felt that. In talking to my mom later, she said she had the same feelings of peace and assurance that the Lord was with them- with us.

Now, I am not going to lie. I am forever grateful that death was not the plan the Lord had for my dad. Our whole family has given fervent, tearful prayers of gratitude that my dad has had successful treatment. But if that was not the case, I know it still would have been OK. God is good. God is with us. Of that I am absolutely, 100% certain!

Time Out For Women

While Audra is doing who knows what in the laundry room (I am a little scared to look, to be honest), I thought I would try to conceptualize some of the thoughts/inspirations I have of the conference this last weekend.

There were 6 speakers and 2 musical presenters, and all were amazing. I will not go into what all of them said, but I would like to share some things which they talked about which inspired me.

Many of them talked about trials they had endured. One woman, Emily Freeman, spoke of her little boy being diagnosed with diabetes. She said when they came home from the hospital, having learned all of the procedures they would now have to do, she pricked his finger to check his blood count, and he reached up and pinched her cheeks as hard as he could- and she let him, because she felt like she deserved it for hurting him with the needle- and he said, "I hate you! I hate this!" and ran off to his room. She then fell on the floor and cried for hours.

She went on to say that after about 5 years she and her son took part in a research study. One of the questions they asked was, "If you could go back and be rid of your son's diagnosis, but also lose all of the knowledge you have gained, would you do it?" She said she had to think about that for a long time- her first impulse was of course to say yes. But, she said, after thinking about it she finally said "no." She said, "all of those nights I spent in prayer, all of those discussions about the Lord I have had with my son, the knowledge I have gained that I am not in this alone- I wouldn't change that for anything, even if it meant making my son better." I thought that was quite poignant- I am pretty sure I would have wanted the diagnosis changed!

Then another woman, Kris Bulgur (who in my opinion was the highlight of the weekend) talked about how she had been diagnosed with eye cancer when she was 7 months old and had to have her eye removed. Then, after she married and had 2 kids, the cancer came back into her other eye. She talks about this horrible period of her life, and how she kept saying, "I had cancer- that part of my life is over- this isn't supposed to be happening to me." She said the doctor gave her two options: "We can remove your eye and you will die. Or, we can go behind your eye to remove the cancer, you will lose your eyesight (leaving her totally blind), and you will probably die." She said she went to Temple Square in Salt Lake and walked up to the statue of the Christus and just fell at His feet and wept. She said all she wanted was to be able to see her Savior's hands, and she couldn't. She talked about the faith and courage she needed to be able to get through all of this- about how she prayed and prayed that she would get better, and the Lord answered her by simply saying, "I am with you"- not saying she would be made whole, but that He was by her side. She said, "of course God's going to give us things we cannot handle- if not, what's the need for Christ?" She also said, "There are obstacles you can not pray away- it does not mean we don't have faith, but that we need to turn to Christ," and that "we may have to go through a sad story, but we don't have to live our lives through that sad story." It was very powerful- especially as everybody in the room was bawling! Her testimony of Christ was just...unbelievable- and I am glad I got to hear it.

Ardeth Kapp talked about changing our sphere of the world- whatever our world is. She said, "the Lord wants us to make an impact on our area of influence- we must be willing to accept that challenge." I really liked that. So often I feel like I want to do something that really makes a difference in the world- I don't know, cure cancer or something (though I would probably need to know at least something about medicine to be able to do that!). But, I CAN help and change my sphere of influence right here in Highlands Ranch, CO. I liked that.

I learned, once again, that whatever trials I think I have- there are people who are really suffering and struggling- cancer, lay-offs, sick children. I know that I am incredibly blessed- BUT, I also know that because of that I have an opportunity and responsibility to reach out to those around me and help lift others up. I want to do that. I have tried, but of course I never feel like I do enough. I wish I was wealthy and could pay for treatments for friends who are ill, or whose children are ill. I wish I could always know the perfect thing to say, and have the perfect solution for those who are enduring trials. But, I don't. However, I can do my best to try and be of service to others, to help with fundraisers, to bring dinners, to help baby-sit- whatever others may need. And, I can be grateful for everything that I have- for health, for the opportunity to stay home with my children (not saying this is the right move for everyone- it just happens to be for us right now), for the knowledge I have that Jesus is the Christ- that He is my Savior and Redeemer, and that He loves me more then I can possibly comprehend. Trials will certainly come (as I may soon find in the laundry room), but I can look to my Savior for guidance and support, and for that I am grateful.

There are many other things I can discuss. And, for those of you who attended, forgive me for not having exact quotes- this is what I gleaned from what was presented, and I would love it if you added your own comments about what you learned as well. It was just a truly uplifting weekend- a spiritual renewal of sorts- and I am grateful I went. I am hoping we can make this a yearly tradition- a yearly recharge of our emotional batteries. Thanks, mom, for calling me and asking me to tag along! It was absolutely wonderful!!!

A Thought

I was at a church meeting last night, and one of the people on our committee gave a beautiful thought that I felt worth repeating.

He talked about Christ and how in the Bible the Lord said, "My peace I give unto you...therefore, neither let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." The speaker talked about how that was a commandment- to let our hearts not be troubled- a commandment that is almost universally disobeyed. In this horribly difficult time, where I want to cry every time I turn the news on because so many people are suffering, the Lord tells us, "come unto me- trust in me and everything will be alright." (I am paraphrasing here).

I don't think this means that we ignore the calamities surrounding us. On the contrary, we should be mourning with those that mourn, helping the afflicted, and praying for those in need. I think these commandments go hand in hand- we turn to the Lord for His peace, and then get to work to help those around us.

I really just loved this thought and wanted to share. I know it was something I needed to hear. If we choose to turn to the Lord in our times of need, He is bound by His own laws to comfort, heal, and help us. I'm going to make an effort to remember this commandment rather then feeling so distraught about all that is happening in the world right now- while still trying to do my best to help those that stand in need of help!