The Gift of Illness

Sometimes getting sick can be a good thing. It forces me to rest more, which helps me think more about life. Recently I read an e-book for the first time that I received as a gift from a new author friend named Cathryn Grant. Since I was too sick too cook for my family, I was able to read the whole book in one day! Granted it took me until 1:00 in the morning, but I slept late yesterday morning. Thankfully Jim lets me sleep late on mornings he works from home and knows I'm sick or haven't slept well.

Another gift that illness brings me is reflecting on the book I read and how different my life is from all the books I read because I have the gospel. It's amazing to think of some of the ideas people have about bad events in life. One of the character's mother gets raped in this book, and her father tells her mother that it is her mother's fault for getting raped! What kind of crap is that? Don't get me wrong - I don't believe in dressing sexy - but it doesn't mean you deserve to get sexually assaulted either. Since I have the gospel, I know that dressing sexy contributes to mens' sexual appetites because of the suggestiveness of the clothes and body. I am grateful that I don't feel a need to dress in tight fitting clothes to gain needed attention of a man.

Becoming a Mother

I always wanted to be a mother, to have a child of my own. I wondered what he/she would look like, and what kind of personality they would have. I also wanted a large family, but I married later than I thought I would, and found out that my husband and I needed expensive medical methods in order to conceive a child. We were devastated at the news until my mother found an adoption ad on the back of a phone book.

I was so excited to become a mother to Seth and Noah on August 1, 2005. They were so young! Seth was 4 1/2, and Noah was almost 2. Jim and I took them into our home and adopted them on National Adoption Day - November 18, 2006. They were sealed to us on my mother's birthday - December 29, 2007.

Raising them has been tougher than I ever thought it would be. They have had both physical and emotional issues that we thought they would be too young to have. But the Lord helps me nurture them when I get frustrated with them and want to give up. I know that Heavenly Father planned on Seth and Noah becoming my sons, and love and appreciate them for who they are. I hope to raise them to love Heavenly Father, Jesus, and the gospel.