Life's Little Miracles

This past week Kent and I had the chance to go up to Primary Children's Hospital to visit a very special new little friend. Our dear friends Shaun and Lanette (whom we were blessed to meet through the adoption process) received their little one last week. The birth mother's due date wasn't until the end of the month, but she came early. Lanette and I had been at a Stake Relief Society meeting with Sister Bonnie Parkin, former Relief Society General President. I met Sister Parkin a few years ago when I was Relief Society President of my BYU ward. She is a gem--her motto is that we as Relief Society sisters are "Charity Chicks." That phrase has always stayed with me. Anyway, that night we got a text from Lanette saying they were on their way to the hospital! Their daughter Iris was born the next morning.

Iris had a few complications and was sent to Primary Children's for surgery. In the meantime, her birth parents signed the adoption papers, and on Monday after I got work, Kent and I got to go up there to meet her. She is an angel. Shaun and Lanette, we are SO happy for you two! You are already amazing parents. It was so special for Kent and me to be able to see how this little baby just belongs in their family. Adoption is an incredible thing and we are so beyond excited for the day when we can bring our little one home!

In this month's Ensign, there is an article on Infertility. If you would like to read it, you can click here. This article is an answer to many of my prayers. I have been praying for some kind of article in the Ensign or in General Conference addressing infertility for a few years now. I have struggled alone for so long with this trial; even though I've had Kent and a few close family members and friends there by my side, I still felt so alone. I know that anyone who has gone through the struggle of infertility knows what I mean. Unless you have gone through it, it is hard to comprehend the pain and the heartache and the grief that you go through. I never lost my faith, but at the same time I felt like others thought I had because I was having a hard time. I have always known we would have children, but that doesn't make the fact that we haven't been able to conceive yet any easier. Anyway, this article is a true tender mercy from the Lord for me. Also, the poem just after the article:

Just The Same

Sometimes—

God sends rain

Straight from the sky

To nourish the young flower

and it grows.

Sometimes—

God sends rain from the sky

To the mountaintops,

Then over hills and through valleys

Until it reaches the flower

and it grows, just the same.

Sometimes—

God sends a child

Straight from His realm

Into a mother’s arms

and love grows.

Sometimes—

God sends a child

From heaven to another’s arms,

Then over hills and through valleys

Until he reaches the arms of his mother

and love grows, just the same.

by Diana Lynn Lacey

This is exactly how we feel. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for allowing us to pass through trials that He knows will help us to become who He knows we can be. I don't know what our future holds, but my love for our future children is already strong, and I know that we will have to opportunity to be parents and to raise our children in love and righteousness. To any of you who may be struggling with infertility, or with anything--you are never alone. With the Savior, you can do all things.