The other day my six year old son, Weston, came to me and said, "Mom, you left for China on a Wednesday and you came home from China on a Sunday." He paused and then continued, "That Wednesday when you left wasn't a good day for me at school."
As I think back to that Wednesday when we left (September 26th) I have a vivid picture in my mind of Travis (age 8) and Weston's faces as we said, "goodbye." They didn't cry. We were all trying to be strong -- knowing that we were saying "goodbye" for a very long time. How long? None of us knew. But I remember the look of sadness--almost fear on their faces. It was enough to break your heart.
I'm glad Weston reminded me of this. Remembering this moment speaks to my soul of the great faith exercised even by my little boys, Travis and Weston. For them to say, "goodbye" to both of their parents for a lengthy, indefinite period of time required more faith and courage of a 6 and 8 year old than I can even imagine.
And here again, this is where the Lord stepped in and took over. This is when His spirit settled over our home. He not only settled over our home, but He took Lon and me in His arms and carried us. I'd felt the impression to "trust" Him and so I did...going forward to a new chapter in my life that would impact everything that lies before me.
So many of you have contributed to my story. As I've thought about it, my story is not a story of illness or a story of medical procedures and treatment. My story is not even a story of traveling to China. No, instead my story is rather simple. It is a story of love...the love and devotion of my husband, the love of my family, the love of my friends, the love of my Savior, and the love of my Heavenly Father.
So many of you have fasted, prayed, and attended the temple in my behalf. So many of you have brought food for my family and watched over them. So many of you have sent loving, kind, and inspiring e-mails. There have been times when a word or a phrase from one of your e-mails has given me the strength I needed and has gotten me through a tough time. Your e-mails have lifted me with everything from sharing a slice of life to sharing memories of the past to sharing testimonies of the Lord's love for us to sharing spiritual experiences that strengthen my soul.
I feel such a debt of gratitude to each one of you that mere words are simply inadequate. If only I could communicate with my heart! If only our hearts could speak one to another, only then could I come close to expressing the joy and gratitude I feel for so many who have served our family and helped everything to go so smoothly. I feel as the Nephites, in 3rd Nephi 17:15-18 of the Book of Mormon, who were attempting to describe the prayer the Savior uttered when he was ministering to them. As such, my feelings of gratitude transcend the written word. Surely the Lord is the good shepherd watching over our family and each one of you has been an instrument in His hands to serve and love our family.
I hesitate to name names, but there are some who were daily on the front-lines and I am so grateful for their tremendous efforts. Shayna (Wardrop) Whiting and Estee Blatter were a great team and held everything together while we were away. Mark and Holly Brown, with their weekend duty, were a huge part of helping my little boys to feel happy and loved. Reserves who also served on the front-lines were Celeste Wardrop, Suzi Naylor, Tami Wardrop, Kari Wardrop, and Lon's parents, Glenn and Pauline Wardrop. Shannon Engle sent packages and love from afar. And my parents, David and MelRae Brown, called me everyday from New Zealand (!) while I was in the "box." And of course, many thanks to my brother, Mark Brown, who made this blog possible. We never imagined how far reaching this blog would become. The night before we left for China, Mark e-mailed me with the beginnings of the blog. I was so overwhelmed to think that he would do this for us. By word of mouth, news of the blog spread and we have heard from so many dear friends, some of whom we haven't heard from in years. Hearing from all of you by e-mail has blessed our lives in great abundance!
I know this e-mail is getting long but I feel there is more I want to share with you. I feel like this experience has been a time of the Spirit tutoring my soul. If you don't mind, I'd like to share with you some of the things that I've learned from this experience.
1. I have learned and felt of the MATCHLESS love that our Savior has for each one of us. I have also learned how very deeply I love Him and need for Him to guide my life every day.
2. I have learned about faith and how, at times, we need to let our feet meet the fear by stepping out into the unknown always remembering that our God will not fail us or forsake us. We must NOT doubt!
3. I have learned about personal revelation and how the Lord will give us a little here and a little there to guide us. By our faith and by casting our minds upon these little packets of pure inspiration we can move forward knowing that He is guiding us.
4. I have learned about hope; knowing that as I go forward in diligence that I am ever following the brightest of examples -- my Savior.
5. I have learned about the atonement and how through it ALL things may be made whole.
6. I have learned to pray from the depths of my soul - truly communicating with my Father who loves me!
7. I have learned patience to wait upon the Lord as truly our time table may not be His time table.
8. I have learned of the power of priesthood blessings and how the words spoken through them are truly the words our Father would have us receive.
9. I have learned what true charity is -- the pure love of Christ -- as I have felt it in action by the love, deeds, kindness, and service of family and friends who have been watching over and blessing our family.
10. I have learned how deeply I love Lon and how eternally grateful I am to him for his love and devotion to me and our family.
11. I have learned of the power that is in the scriptures and have a deep love and gratitude for prophets through the ages.
12. I have learned that trials are gifts which give us the opportunity to come to know God.
and finally,
13. I have learned that when the Lord speaks peace to the soul that there can be no greater comfort.
I want to close by expressing gratitude to my Heavenly Father for allowing me to have this time of trials and joys -- it is truly a sacred experience. And to all who read this I proclaim that God lives! Jesus is the Christ! We are of a divine heritage and we are loved! I also want to bear testimony that I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is alive and thriving on this earth. This Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was restored by the prophet, Joseph Smith, and is led today by a living prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley. Of these things I know and bear witness.
I love you all so much and look forward to the day when I can see you again!
Love,
Sheryl
As I think back to that Wednesday when we left (September 26th) I have a vivid picture in my mind of Travis (age 8) and Weston's faces as we said, "goodbye." They didn't cry. We were all trying to be strong -- knowing that we were saying "goodbye" for a very long time. How long? None of us knew. But I remember the look of sadness--almost fear on their faces. It was enough to break your heart.
I'm glad Weston reminded me of this. Remembering this moment speaks to my soul of the great faith exercised even by my little boys, Travis and Weston. For them to say, "goodbye" to both of their parents for a lengthy, indefinite period of time required more faith and courage of a 6 and 8 year old than I can even imagine.
And here again, this is where the Lord stepped in and took over. This is when His spirit settled over our home. He not only settled over our home, but He took Lon and me in His arms and carried us. I'd felt the impression to "trust" Him and so I did...going forward to a new chapter in my life that would impact everything that lies before me.
So many of you have contributed to my story. As I've thought about it, my story is not a story of illness or a story of medical procedures and treatment. My story is not even a story of traveling to China. No, instead my story is rather simple. It is a story of love...the love and devotion of my husband, the love of my family, the love of my friends, the love of my Savior, and the love of my Heavenly Father.
So many of you have fasted, prayed, and attended the temple in my behalf. So many of you have brought food for my family and watched over them. So many of you have sent loving, kind, and inspiring e-mails. There have been times when a word or a phrase from one of your e-mails has given me the strength I needed and has gotten me through a tough time. Your e-mails have lifted me with everything from sharing a slice of life to sharing memories of the past to sharing testimonies of the Lord's love for us to sharing spiritual experiences that strengthen my soul.
I feel such a debt of gratitude to each one of you that mere words are simply inadequate. If only I could communicate with my heart! If only our hearts could speak one to another, only then could I come close to expressing the joy and gratitude I feel for so many who have served our family and helped everything to go so smoothly. I feel as the Nephites, in 3rd Nephi 17:15-18 of the Book of Mormon, who were attempting to describe the prayer the Savior uttered when he was ministering to them. As such, my feelings of gratitude transcend the written word. Surely the Lord is the good shepherd watching over our family and each one of you has been an instrument in His hands to serve and love our family.
I hesitate to name names, but there are some who were daily on the front-lines and I am so grateful for their tremendous efforts. Shayna (Wardrop) Whiting and Estee Blatter were a great team and held everything together while we were away. Mark and Holly Brown, with their weekend duty, were a huge part of helping my little boys to feel happy and loved. Reserves who also served on the front-lines were Celeste Wardrop, Suzi Naylor, Tami Wardrop, Kari Wardrop, and Lon's parents, Glenn and Pauline Wardrop. Shannon Engle sent packages and love from afar. And my parents, David and MelRae Brown, called me everyday from New Zealand (!) while I was in the "box." And of course, many thanks to my brother, Mark Brown, who made this blog possible. We never imagined how far reaching this blog would become. The night before we left for China, Mark e-mailed me with the beginnings of the blog. I was so overwhelmed to think that he would do this for us. By word of mouth, news of the blog spread and we have heard from so many dear friends, some of whom we haven't heard from in years. Hearing from all of you by e-mail has blessed our lives in great abundance!
I know this e-mail is getting long but I feel there is more I want to share with you. I feel like this experience has been a time of the Spirit tutoring my soul. If you don't mind, I'd like to share with you some of the things that I've learned from this experience.
1. I have learned and felt of the MATCHLESS love that our Savior has for each one of us. I have also learned how very deeply I love Him and need for Him to guide my life every day.
2. I have learned about faith and how, at times, we need to let our feet meet the fear by stepping out into the unknown always remembering that our God will not fail us or forsake us. We must NOT doubt!
3. I have learned about personal revelation and how the Lord will give us a little here and a little there to guide us. By our faith and by casting our minds upon these little packets of pure inspiration we can move forward knowing that He is guiding us.
4. I have learned about hope; knowing that as I go forward in diligence that I am ever following the brightest of examples -- my Savior.
5. I have learned about the atonement and how through it ALL things may be made whole.
6. I have learned to pray from the depths of my soul - truly communicating with my Father who loves me!
7. I have learned patience to wait upon the Lord as truly our time table may not be His time table.
8. I have learned of the power of priesthood blessings and how the words spoken through them are truly the words our Father would have us receive.
9. I have learned what true charity is -- the pure love of Christ -- as I have felt it in action by the love, deeds, kindness, and service of family and friends who have been watching over and blessing our family.
10. I have learned how deeply I love Lon and how eternally grateful I am to him for his love and devotion to me and our family.
11. I have learned of the power that is in the scriptures and have a deep love and gratitude for prophets through the ages.
12. I have learned that trials are gifts which give us the opportunity to come to know God.
and finally,
13. I have learned that when the Lord speaks peace to the soul that there can be no greater comfort.
I want to close by expressing gratitude to my Heavenly Father for allowing me to have this time of trials and joys -- it is truly a sacred experience. And to all who read this I proclaim that God lives! Jesus is the Christ! We are of a divine heritage and we are loved! I also want to bear testimony that I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is alive and thriving on this earth. This Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was restored by the prophet, Joseph Smith, and is led today by a living prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley. Of these things I know and bear witness.
I love you all so much and look forward to the day when I can see you again!
Love,
Sheryl
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