Finding the moments that make it worth it!

 I have tried to up load these pictures and write about them three times and every time I am about to post it I loose everything, other things have happened over the last week and a half that I want to write about so this is going to be quick.  Our first week was pretty miserable and we didn't think it could get any worse but then Tex and Tate got the stomach flu throwing up and diarrhea I was not to happy, I don't know why when my family especially my kids get sick I get really anxious. It got significantly worse when Sunday the 16th of February after Tate had not thrown up for about two hours we noticed that are bathroom was flooding raw sewage water and it stunk way bad. It was seeping fast into our room and the boys room, we were grabbing all the stuff off the floor and putting it on our bed and trying to soak up the water with towels but it was not use the nasty water just kept coming. To make a long story shorter we got a hotel for Sunday night and Monday night, we loaded up and left feeling really bummed out. Over the next few days there were other challenges like one of the hotels we stayed in that we thought was going to be cheap was not cheap it was 15 dollars to park, 10 dollars if we wanted internet and 10 dollars a person if we wanted breakfast. when we got back into our apartment the AC broke then the electrical stopped working so we had to use flash lights. I started to wake up thinking what awful thing is going to happen today? 

 Right about then is when I came across a quote by Richard G Scott-

“Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more. He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit.”

For the most part it changed my attitude about all these challenges.   I want to be worthy of the Lords kingdom and if these really uncomfortable trials mean I am growing than I need to do it with a smile on my face. It also made me reflect on all the times that I felt the love of my Heavenly Father and Savior. Like the beach pictures the Saturday before all the sickness and flood happened, it was so beautiful out side and I was watching my kids and feeling the sun on my back I some how knew deep down I was loved.

 When we ate at I hop for dinner on Sunday night after settling into our hotel room, the next morning watching the boys loving the wind blowing in their faces.

 Making sand men at the beach Monday afternoon waiting to check into our next hotel room, getting Paisley to smile and spending time with our friends at the cove in Hallandale beach. Even in the hotel that we found was not as cheap as we thought, when I got up at 4 am to feed Paisley looking out over the city everything was so quite and peaceful I felt so  strong that Heavenly Father was saying to me everything is going to be okay. It also made me think of the poem foot prints in the sand. 

I guess I just need to remember that there are always going to be trails and not so fun times but there are always time that make it worth it and we need to hold on tight to those moments when the challenges come.

One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to the Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You'd walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you."