Timing Is Everything

 

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

Timing is Everything

I'll never forget the day we got home from taking Blake to the MTC (Mission Training Center) on September 23, 2009. I went into his room, sat on the bed, and cried. I have a lot of faith, but to be quite honest, I wasn't sure what my future would be or if I would have the opportunity to hold and hug my son ever again. I know for him, it must have been so difficult to leave. I worried night and day about him, wanting him to have a successful mission without worry or stress about me. Now I understand why the Lord has order and precision in all we do. Things are more apparent than ever before-

TIMING IS EVERYTHING-  

Most boys leave on their mission when they turn 19; my Blake was not ready. It broke my heart at the time. I now know the Lord is in complete control of all we endure, and HE understands more than we realize. Blake decided to leave when he was 21. All his friends who left at age 19 were just getting home from their missions. Only 6 weeks before he went, I found out I had breast cancer. During that time, I remember thinking, "This is the worst timing ever." Reflecting on that time, I realized how much I needed to learn. TIMING truly is EVERYTHING... 

I know I am alive with all my heart and soul because my son chose to serve the Lord. If it weren't for his service and Recker's Love, I think I would have checked out a long time ago. When I look back at the last 2 years of our lives, I can see the blessings, oh so many benefits of unselfishly serving the Lord. Tears run down my face as I think about what the Lord has blessed us. My son, my hero, I love him so much. He endured the last 2 years with strength and reliance on the Lord to help him through some tough days and nights.

Tonight I am sitting on his bed writing this blog- so many emotions are running through my head--he will sleep here tomorrow night. He will kneel and pray here in this room where I have knelt and prayed so many times for him to be safe and not worry about me or what is going on at home. So many pleas to the Lord on his behalf have been in this very room. Looking around, I see scriptures sitting on his nightstand--my scriptures, the ones I have studied. The Preach My Gospel book is right next to my scriptures. The pages are tattered a bit from me turning pages, trying my hardest to learn Christlike Attributes. I read every scripture I could get my hands on about faith, hope, charity, love, virtue, knowledge, patience, humility, diligence, and obedience. Boy, I have a long way to go before I can say I have mastered even one of those attributes. 

Yes, I believe TIMING IS EVERYTHING .... it's now time for Blake to come home, be with his family and start his life--I know he must have some mixed emotions too. I have been dreaming of the hug I will get from him, praying that my health would be good enough to greet him at the airport without him being disappointed or discouraged. He made it through, I made it through, and we all got through 2 years that I would not trade for anything in the world. My knowledge of our Savior's love for my family and me has been strengthened tenfold; I have said it many times, and I KNOW HE LIVES.   

I am so thankful to my friends, family, and the Lord for lifting me up on the days when I thought tomorrow would never come.... now as I pick up my scriptures to walk out his bedroom door, I am closing it like a chapter in my life is over, but opening it to walk towards a bright and beautiful future.

P.S. another reminder of Timing--precisely 2 years ago tomorrow, I was in Mayo Hospital having a radical mastectomy and being told my cancer had spread--and now we celebrate.