Miracles Still Exist

It was only a few days ago I sat at this computer with my eyes filled with tears as a good friend reminded me that I needed to take some of my struggles to my Heavenly Father in prayer. I will forever be thankful for his reminder as well as all the other times that my friends have reminded my to take my struggles to the Lord. I will not name them all, but I am certain that I haven't forgotten even one of those friends or that time they reminded me where my true strength would come from. Having said that I would like to share the miracle that followed that prayer Thursday night.

In my prayer I asked for a few things. First I told the Lord of the way I felt. I told Him of my sorrows and my pains and I asked Him to help me though it. I asked Him for a miracle in my life as I could see that things were not going the way the Lord would want. I asked Him for the words to say so that I could express myself to the person I needed to work through this with. I also made an odd request. I asked that I could be accompanied by the love of my grandparents and that I would be able to feel their spirits and their love. I got up from my prayer and went to bed.

As I lay there in bed a handwritten journal entry I had made came to my mind and I remembered it as if it had been written only a few months prior. I grabbed my journal and found the entry dated a year and two weeks earlier. The entry came so clear to my mind that I thought I had written the wrong date for a moment. As I started to read my entry tears again streaked down my cheeks as the feelings were so raw it was as if I had written them that evening. I was amazed at how well it described what I was feeling. At the end of the entry it told me how much God loved me and it reminded me of things that I needed to hear to find comfort. I have no doubt in my mind that God gave me that impression to read those words and then in turn prompted me to share them with my spouse.

The next day I went about my chores and every now and again something would spark a reminder of a time I had spent with a grandparent. Something else would make me think of another grandparent. By about 2:00 pm I had had four separate instances where I was mentally engaged in some kind of memory or thought about each and every one of my grandparents. Were my prayers answered the way I thought they would be? No. Did the Lord answer my prayers? Yes, with exactness! I know that the Lord was aware of my challenges and I know that the Lord answered my prayers. I know that He will help us at any time in our lives all we have to do is take that small action and ask for His help!

In addition I want to add a little bit of help for anyone feeling the way I did that night. There were a few other things that helped me that night. I listened to the talk from last April's conference by M. Russell Ballard entitled, Daughters of God. He reminded me that I need to care for my own health in addition to that of my family's. I also read my patriarchal blessing which reminded me of how much the Lord loves me. Finally there are a few scriptures that I read. They are 2 Nephi 4:27 which talks about ALLOWING the Devil to destroy our peace and afflict our souls. Also 2 Nephi 4:34 Talks about placing our trust in God instead of in the arm of the flesh. We can solve any problem between two people if we allow God to mediate between the two. Without Him there are not many problems we can work out. The final scriptures my friend shared with me. Alma 7:11-12 reminds us that Christ suffered for our sins and ALL our pains so that he would know how to help us and how to succor his people. He suffered for all of us and that is why He is the great mediator because He literally knows how each and every one of us feels at each and every moment in our lives. What greater gift and miracle can we have than that!