Monday, December 8, 2008

Faith & Bowels: Two Main Subjects of my Life

Greg told a woman at work that we were having twins today.  Actually, he emailed her and told her he was going to be a father again "with a twist."  Her response:  "It isn't Emily."  Haha!  Actually, her response was very interesting.  She said: "Well, you Mormons believe that everything happens for a purpose."  

This comment has been on both of our minds all evening.  First of all, this woman is considered "A Mormon."  She has been baptized and is therefore on the records of the church.  I'm positive there are two Visiting Teachers out there that diligently leave a plate of cookies and a photocopy of the monthly message on her doorstep every month.  Secondly, I pose the question: How does one make it through life without knowing that "to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" (to quote Ecclesiastes or The Byrds)? 

On another note:
Paige is seriously the sweetest, most delicious thing in my life right now.  Tonight, Macy fought yet another battle in her War of the Bowels (she is losing by the way).  Needless to say, she was incredibly grumpy all evening.  During an intermission, Paige tried to approach her darling sister.  Macy, having a rough night, pushed her away.  We tried to distract Paige by having her run an errand.  Halfway down the hall, she turned back around and ran toward Macy.  "Sorry Macy.  Kisses."  She put her arms around her and kissed her arm.  Even Macy's heart melted for a second or two.  

We also heard Paige repeat the words (with great concern I might add): "Enema...poo-poo...out."  She has such an advanced vocabulary!  I hope, with all my heart, that she shares this one with the check-out lady the next time we are in the grocery store.  It seems like all our family secrets are revealed at check-out stands.


Just to bring the conversation full circle:
While Macy was in the bathroom, screaming and crying, she was calling out, "I want to go to Heaven!"  See, even my little four-year-old knows that all of this suffering is for a reason and that our trials do make us stronger.  It seems like Sunday's theme was that trials do make us stronger as we come to a realization that we cannot do it without relying heavily on our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  As we "Come to Christ" our "yoke" (so to speak) truly does become lighter and easier to bear.  We look at life with an Eternal Perspective as peace enters into our hearts and minds.  We are able to see the joy and the Lord's compassion so much clearer when we realize that everything truly does have a purpose.  (And no, I am not discussing bowels any longer).  

It does not matter to me that I may seem naive, ignorant, or idealistic to search for meaning in my life.  I believe it is there.  I am trying to look at these children as more of a blessing than a trial (although we've only just begun), but I firmly believe that this was the Lord's doing and He will take care of us.  Last Tuesday, the night before we found out about our two babies, I was contemplating Elder Wirthlin's words: "Put your trust in the Lord, do your best, then leave the rest to Him."  In this same talk, he quoted his mother's advice to him during a trial in his life: "Come what may, and love it."  I love the way the Lord works!  Just the night before, I knelt down and pledged that I would do better at following this council.  Those words came back to me during the ultrasound and my heart has been at peace all week.  Not only with these babies, but with other struggles in my life as well.

Yes...I do believe that everything has a purpose.  I believe that something as trivial as me picking up a certain Conference Talk at a particular moment has significance, or the sweet love and concern of a toddler has meaning.  It is my prayer tonight that this woman may find the answers and the peace that she is searching for as well.   

7 comments:

Brian and Kim said...

I hope that she finds an answer also. The last two Sundays have been packed with such strong spiritual messages. I don't know if it's hormones or what but I have been on the verge of tears for two weeks. Melissa's message was amazing and then she added the video with the pics of kids. All I could think of was, "Oh crap, I dont have a tissue." Same with last week. Sis O is an amazing teacher. I'd forgotten how much I've enjoyed her lessons. I'm just grateful for that "spiritual bucket" that keeps getting filled every week.

By the way, a mom in Calvin's class has twins and we were discussing infertility and what it intells. Somehow it lead to where I was bringing my kids from. She knows you and Greg and your mom. She said that she was Gregs boss up until she had her twins early six years ago. You may know who I'm talking about. I just can't remember her first name but her last name was Miller (I think, I'm terrible with names).

Sorry for the book. Thanks again for all of your help. :)

Brian and Kim said...

Paige is adorable. She was so enjoyable when I sub in nursery a few weeks ago. I can only imagine what fun she is at home.

kto1s said...

Emily! What a treat! I've peeked at a few posts, but, boy howdy, couldn't get past your announcement!!! Can't think of a better person to raise twins. I've always wished I could have the bond that my bro & sis that are twins have. My mom will be seriously jealous! She always does say that, aside from the 1st year being a bit of a daze, the rewards truly are multiplied! I know I may be in the minority, but I prayed that this last one would be twins--the experience in our family was so sweet because of them. Seriously--you've been hand picked because you are so capable.

On a side note, I gave the relief society lesson 2 weeks ago on Elder Wirthlin's conference address and felt so blessed to have lived, breathed and studied that counsel of "Come what may, and love it" while preparing for the lesson. Truly inspiring nuggets of advice. Love to you! So glad to be able to keep up through our blogs and so grateful for your friendship (um--really--half a life-time ago? Say it ain't so!!)

kto1s said...

And for the record, we've got a small tree, filled with homemade, old, treasured (and some kind of trashed!) ornaments down stairs that the kids can do whatever in the world they want with it. And it belongs where we do our REAL life, and where most of our memories are made in our home. Think I should post the sad (but beautiful!) picture on the blog. Bet ours would look pretty similar :) haha

Jackie said...

You always have such great posts Emily. I love your thoughts. Maybe that's why everyone says you are "so wise." It's not referring to your age- it just makes you seem like you should be older because of your wisdom. Know what I mean? :-)

Andee said...

Oh I love Macy's comment about wanting to go to heaven. That is so great!! I'm going to say that next time I have that problem. :)
I'm so excited for you!

Jen-ben said...

That was way too funny! I love Macy! How boring your life would be without her!