Taking time for Spiritual things Dec 21, 2012

Taking time for Spiritual things

Early on in my grieving I found that I was lifted and that my sorrow was more bearable,

if I took the time for spiritual study, journaling and pondering.  

During the initial month surrounding the funeral,  I was involved in sharing my beliefs with others who had questions about my faith.  I naturally spent a lot of time studying spiritual things and that carried me through.  People remarked, 

"How are you doing this?  How are you coping so well?"

I knew that my faith was helping me, but I hadn't completely put all of it together yet.

  I just knew it was working.  

When my friends' interest ended, I found myself sucked into the realities of life.  I had big financial and legal problems, a large home to sell and take care of, and a move to prepare for.  

I was extremely overwhelmed.

It was easy for me to get lost in the phone calls, paper work, and house hold duties, and for me to neglect the study that I had done early on.  

I began to see a pattern in my days...

Those that were bearable were always coupled with time for study.  

Those that ended in emotional disaster could always be traced back to me 

failing to devote the time needed to fill my spiritual reservoir.  

I began to try and change my priorities, but that did not happen over night.  I struggled back and forth to remember that lesson.  Here is a journal excerpt from 6 weeks out...

Dec 21, 2012 

I have been slacking in my writing. I am on the plane on the way to Provo, and I finally found some time to write.   

The 19th was our 20th wedding anniversary and I spent it driving up to St Louis to go to the temple with my mom and two sisters that live there. It was wonderful to be there and to feel the spirit and feel Scott near me. Everything has new meaning to me now that my eternal companion is on the other side. How grateful I am for the covenants that I have made in the temple and for the assurance that if I am faithful that Scott and I will be able to be together again as an eternal family. I feel that those covenants bind us together now. 

When I am feeling the spirit I feel like I can handle the time we are apart now.

 Yesterday I plowed back into financial and legal concerns. I worried about getting everything ready for our trip and for our early Christmas Eve that night. 

It was a bad day. 

I felt discouraged and worried and stressed, and I cried on and off all day.  

I realized that I hadn't taken the time to study and read my scriptures.  

 I wasn't taking time to feel the spirit. 

What a stark contrast it was from the day before. 

I am learning... 

I have to take time for spiritually things- 

not just that it is good, 

but that I HAVE TO, 

that I can't survive and function if I don't!

Blessings Just Realized from an Answer to Prayers Two Years Before the Accident

Blessings Just Realized from an Answer to Prayers Two Years Before The Accident

"How grateful I am that I felt inspired two years ago to start taking my two oldest boys out for lunch once a week. It meant an extra hour of driving for me and having to pull them out of school. I often had to miss things or rearrange my schedule to make it work. We ate at restaurants that weren't always my favorites, but we developed a friendship that is really helping us get through this crisis. Love my boys! It was so worth it. Take the time to build lasting relationships with your kids. Drop the unimportant stuff and just do it. You won't regret a minute of it. - Dec 13, 2012

I recently wrote an article about how I got the inspiration to do this with my son.  Prayer is a powerful parenting tool.  I have also learned that God blesses your life over and over if you will just turn to Him for answers instead of trying to do it all on your own.

The power of Prayer in Parenting a Teen

Here is an excerpt... (to read more go to the link above)

"Sometimes when you’re parenting a teen, you have to dig deep for ideas… And I have found prayers to be the most powerful tool.  My oldest son was a sophomore in high school when our relationship began to suffer. He had the ability to drive, and with his busy school and extra curricular schedule, we rarely saw each other. I felt he was not pulling his weight at home. He felt overly controlled and tension developed. After a semester of this, I began to worry as I saw our communication degrade.I didn’t know what to do..."