Her daughter has always had the immediate answer kind of experiences with prayer- so much so that her parents would ask her to offer the prayer whenever something important came up. Mandy told us about a time that she took her kids grocery shopping and her son's shoe got lost somewhere along the way. If you're a parent you'll especially understand this part- Mandy didn't want to go back through the store and drag her kids with her to look for the shoe, and so she didn't especially want to pray to find it. Her daughter said that she would say a prayer to find the shoe, and so after checking the back of the car and seats as she loaded her kids and groceries in, Mandy's daughter said a prayer. When they pulled into the garage, Mandy looked back and there was her son's shoe sitting right in the middle of the seat.
Mandy's son, on the other hand, didn't have those kinds of experiences with prayer. He would ask to find things, and it would take him a while to find it. Mandy felt bad that her son had the opposite experience that her daughter did with prayers. She wanted his prayers to be answered too!
When her son was around 4 years old he would pray every single day to find a caterpillar. This went on for months, and Mandy would even take him on walks and look everywhere she could think of that might have caterpillars but they could never find any. Her son wasn't deterred though, he went on for several months, still asking Heavenly Father to help him find a caterpillar. He loved caterpillars. It was just a cute thing that he would do each time he prayed- ask to find a caterpillar.
A few months later their family took a trip to Nauvoo, and as they entered a gazebo that had plaques with pioneers names in it they saw a sweet answer to her son's prayer. There on the ground were thousands of caterpillars, like they had just hatched there. They smiled and joked about how there was every single answer to every single prayer her son had said, asking to find a caterpillar. Mandy told us it taught her something special about prayer though; Heavenly Father answers each one of our prayers- even if we don't see it right away.
Elder Holland told us, "Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don't come until heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come." (you can read that talk here)
This lesson touched my heart today. I've been pretty open about my struggle to accept God's will and timing with our trial of infertility and miscarriages. I can't even count the number of prayers I have said, begging God to give me babies. I have bargained with Him, made promises to be better, or give up silly habits or shows, I've cried and asked a million times for the blessing of having more children join our family, and then usually half-heartedly tacked on the phrase, "not my will, but thine be done". I've had times where I have felt like maybe my faith was dwindling because there are scriptures that tell me, ask and ye shall receive. But I wasn't receiving.
What I've been missing was this perspective.
Some answers come right away, like with Mandy's daughter's prayers. Some take time for us to see the answer, like her son and his caterpillars. :) Some blessings don't come until heaven- like Emma Smith raising her babies.
But, like Elder Holland said, "for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come."
So. Rather than wallowing in my self pity, as I look around at all these cute mama's who seem to get pregnant just by thinking about it ;) I'm going to work harder to embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ. The good news of his atonement that gives me strength to endure, that allows me to repent and continue in growing and learning, is the most beautiful part of his gospel. It's the part that will allow me to return to live with my Heavenly Father, and get to meet all the ancestors who I'm convinced are helping me here and there along my way on earth.
I want to send you over to another blog because Erik said it better than I can, but there is no reason to be stuck in bad attitudes. You may be bringing your trials of last year along with you into the new, but you can have a fresh start with your attitude in 2017. Remember that patience pretty much goes along with everything in this life- and remember that Heavenly Father without a doubt hears each one of your prayers. They'll be answered in God's time and way. Open your heart and eyes, and I promise you, you will see that.
(You can read Erik's post here. I'm always amazed, uplifted, and reminded to be grateful by his posts. Thanks for being an example Erik!)
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