The Palm of His Hands

Anniversaries

Last week I talked about our 39^th wedding anniversary; today I would like to talk about a few other anniversaries. For starters it has now been one year that I have been doing this blog (started it on June 28^th, 2013) and I have loved doing it. I hope that what I have posted has been of value to those that have read the posts. The topics have covered subjects like “The Tender Mercies of the Lord”,  “The Faith of a Child”, “Achieving Happiness in Our Marriages”, Faith, Prayer, Revelation, Latter-day Prophets, Christmas, Eternal Families, Priesthood Keys, “Called to Serve”, Motherhood, Fatherhood, Agency, and many more. You can read past blogs by clicking on the Archive menu to the right.

Another anniversary that our family celebrated not long ago was the first birthday of our grandson Mason (April 28^th). His due date was supposed to be on July 3^rd, but do to some complications he was born at 29 weeks and weighed in at 2 lbs. 11 oz. He was in the NI-CU for almost two months before coming home. Today he is healthy and learning to crawl and loves playing with his big brother. What a miracle he is and a testimony to the blessings of great doctors and nurses at the NI-CU where he spent his first couple of months struggling to survive.

Mason in NI-CU

It is also a testimony of the tender mercies of the Lord in our lives (read the post on this topic that was posted on July 7, 2013). One of the nurses told us that because his mother was having complications due to the condition called “HELP” (high ensigns, low platelets) it caused Mason to develop faster. When our daughter, Michelle, was first admitted to the hospital they put her on medication to help her condition and also help Mason prepare for birth. With the advances in medicine the doctors were able to tell how Mason was developing and when it was safe for him to be born. 48 hours after she was admitted they induced her and Mason was born shortly after. Although he is still behind in his development, he is healthy and full of life. I know that he has been blessed by the Lord and is a blessing to us as well.

           

The last anniversary that I want to mention is one that has changed my life. Ten years ago this month I was

Nathan and Mason at 1 Month

struck with pancreatitis and for a while the doctor did not know if I would live or not. I spent 21 days in the hospital – 11 days in intensive care. The doctor told my wife to call our children and let them know that it was a possibility that I would not recover.

My bishop gave me a blessing and in that blessing he said that it was not my time to go and the Lord had other things for me to do.  After three surgeries and six months of being in and out of the hospital I finally recovered and have not had any problems since. The blessing from the Lord has been a great comfort to my family and me.

Since that blessing I have often wondered what the bishop meant when he said that the Lord had other things for me to do. There have been many things that could be a fulfillment of that prophecy, but I do know that one of them is my calling as a bishop over an LDS married student ward here in Logan.  The stake president that called me to serve as the bishop over that ward was the same person who was my bishop that gave me the blessing. I asked him when he set me apart as the bishop if he knew then what the Lord had in mind for me when he gave me that blessing. He said: “not

Nathan and Mason July 2014

only did I not know, but I did not know that I would be the one calling you to be a bishop”.  Looking back over the past ten years I can see that the Lord did have many things for me to do. Four months after I first got pancreatitis, my daughter had her first son and I have been able to be a part of helping him grow and develop a testimony that his Heavenly Father loves him and now he has a little brother that has had a hard start to his life, but he loves his little brother and is always there to help him.  I have had the blessing of participating in the ordination of another grandson to be a Deacon and a granddaughter graduate from primary and enter the young women’s program of our church. Ten years ago we had two grandchildren and now we have nine. I have had the privilege of standing in the circle as they were given a name and blessing in church.

I am grateful that the Lord saw fit that I was not ready to go then and I am certain that there is much more for me to do both in serving in the church and with my family. I am grateful for his tender mercies in my life.

Your comments are always welcome.