Migraine blessing

As background, I am a migraine sufferer.  Before kids, I would get them a couple times per month.  During pregnancy and breastfeeding, I usually got a reprieve and got them far less often.  I was telling my BFF last week how it had been almost 2 years since I'd had a migraine.  Huge blessing.  :)  However, somewhat ironically, last Friday I got a migraine. 
I'm the Teachings for our Times teacher in our RS. I was scheduled to teach on Sunday.  For me, the best way to "treat" my migraines is to take medicine when I get the aura, then get to sleep.   So, that is what I did.  Unfortunately, it didn't kick the migraine this time.  I woke up on Saturday still with an awful headache.  I rested, I napped... I took medicine, but I could not focus at all. 
I knew I needed to finish preparing my lesson, but I was feeling completely useless.  I could see the words on the page, and I thought I was reading them, but I could not seem to retain them or make any sort of coherent thought about them.  I wanted to pass off the lesson to someone else, but my "backup" teacher was out of town and I didn't feel right about passing it off so late to anyone else.  So, Saturday night, I sat down at the computer and forced myself to create an outline.  I really don't even remember any of it making sense STILL at that point, but I got some questions ready to ask and made some handouts with quotes from the talk I was supposed to be teaching. 
I went to bed early hoping to kick the migraine and wake up with some clarity of thought so that I could fix the lesson plan I started.  No such luck.  Still foggy and hurting Sunday morning.  Begin super praying.  lol.  really though, I was not feeling capable of teaching, so I prayed as hard as I could muster that the Spirit would teach the lesson that day. 
As I got up to teach, I hoped that the migraine would melt away for at least the time I had to stand up there.  It didn't.  But something else happened.  Despite my feeling as though I couldn't make a coherent thought, and could hardly read the words on my paper, I WAS able to teach.  It was as though my spiritual self took over for those 45 minutes.  I had people tell me that they never would have known I had a migraine unless I had told them.  My body was weak at that moment, but the Spirit was strong.  I honestly don't remember a lot of the lesson, but I know there was good discussion and a feeling of peace and hope in the room. 
The Lord doesn't always remove our physical challenges, but He DOES strenthen us when we are striving to do His will.

A miracle

Posting this from my friends blog.  Her daughter has been going through a really difficult trial for the past month, but Heavenly Father was busy preparing the right people to be available to help her.    Read the story here to find out more.  Such a testimony of his love for each of us.

ABOUT TIME

I haven't posted on here in forever. To say I have nothing I have been grateful for would be a flat out LIE.

Most recently, I am grateful for helpers. I am grateful for guidance and patience of friends - even that gracious patience that we all need when we have a tendency to put our foot in our mouth.

I am grateful for all of the people who have held my head above the ocean of my life in the last six months - some not even wondering why I need it, but just doing it.

I am grateful for prayers, and answered prayers. For learning about faith, for making mistakes and learning from them. I am grateful for learning the value of the little things - and learning that the little things are the roots of that vital tree. I am grateful for my freedom to pray, and read my scriptures.

I am grateful for my freedom to parent my children as I wish. I am grateful to have two amazing children who are gentle and kind. I am grateful for friends who remind me that my kids are doing ok - when I am feeling especially frustrated over something minuscule, and realize I am a perfectionist in everything. I am grateful for my talents, even if I feel a jack of all trades and a master of none. I am so grateful for a supportive family.

I am grateful for a friend who died this past April, teaching me when I was angry, and then sad - that life is too short. That now is the time, and that everything should be appreciated. He was 23. Every choice matters!

And - before my post gets too long - I am so, so grateful for conference earlier this month. A specific talk by Larry R. Lawrence of the Seventy gave me the courage to talk to a friend about an issue they were battling, in a way I never would have approached it before - because the words that were spoken rang true, and rattled my bones. I think that his talk titled "Courageous Parenting" could easily be translated into many titles - "Courageous Friendship", "Courageous Sisterhood", I think we should all be Courageous Women.

Just a little miracle

We've had a LOT of snow lately here. Last fall, we didn't get our trampoline taken down, so it was being weighed down by the snow. Yesterday Benson decided to take the net down in hopes that we don't ruin it by leaving it in this weather. Tank joined him outside and enjoyed playing in the snow.

Later in the day, Benson needed to leave for work, but couldn't find his keys. He looked all over the house, in his coat pocket, in his pants pocket.... they were not to be found. He finally asked Tank if she knew where they were.

"Yes Dad, they are under the trampoline."

Apparently they fell out of his pocket while working on the tramp. They surely would have been lost until Spring if our little Tank hadn't kept her eyes open. It may be a little miracle, but I'm sure glad for it!!!

Garbage picking miracle

We've been working really hard on our house lately, and with all the construction, we had gathered an awful lot of garbage.  We've been putting it out to the road a little at a time and making  a great dent in the pile of junk.  We had 2 things that the garbage man wouldn't take without us paying for it... a dryer and a water softener.  We put both items out by the road in hopes that some garbage picker/scrapper would pick them up.  The dryer disappeared within a day!  However, the water softener just sat...  and sat...  for 2 weeks.  I finally called the garbage company and asked them to pick it up despite the $45 charge they were going to add to my next bill. 

By some little miracle, someone decided to pick up a water softener that night.  I was able to call the garbage company and cancel the pickup, and save $45!  This Christmas season, that is no small miracle to me!

A "lucky" pick

My son finds sitting in primary very difficult. Lately he has started to show some improvement because he has decided that he would like to have a turn during sharing time. Today he had his arm held up as high as he could because he wanted a turn very badly. His teacher reminded him that he needed to sit reverently so that he could get a turn. The Primary President was choosing children using the sticks in an effort to make her choosing as fair as possible. My son tried to sit as still as he possibly could so that she would call on him. I quickly said a prayer that he would be chosen and his good behavior would be rewarded. The next stick the Primary President chose said his name. She made the comment that it was a lucky pick because I think she was silently rooting for his name to be picked as well since she knows how difficult it is for him to sit still. I knew that it wasn't a "lucky" pick at all, rather it was an answer to a prayer and a very special blessing for a little boy learning to be reverent in primary.

A Mother's Wisdom

This past week, I am grateful because I have learned a valuable lesson -

That sometimes, when you are at your wit's end - when you refuse to ask for help, and aren't even looking for it - another mother's wisdom can be a diamond in the rough.