Conference Part 2

My heart be still.

I can't explain what this picture does to me.  

Look at those boys.  They are mine.

 So, my plan all along was to get the boys tickets to the Priesthood Session.  I had talked to my bishop about it a year ago, and he said he would secure 4 for me.  

I called my bishop about a month before Conference to ask him if he had them, and he told me he did.  Rambo and I had temple recommend interviews to go to, so he told me he would bring them.  After my interview, he got out the tickets to hand them to me, checked them again, and said, "Oh wait!  These are for the Saturday afternoon session, not Priesthood."

He asked me if I would like him to try to get Priesthood session tickets and I said I would.

A few days later, he called to tell me that he was unlucky, and asked if I would still like the saturday afternoon session, absolutely I would!

Now, to tell a bit of a background story.

My sweet husband suffers from depression.  The kind of depression that only medicine can help, and medicine only gets him so far.  

In August 2012, he almost gave in to that depression and we had a terrible experience where he came way too close to taking his life, and leaving me here a widow.  I am happy to say, he was unsuccessful and after many trials, and tribulations, and doctor changes and medicine switches, and so so so many prayers!!! we are doing SO much better.  Depression still rears it's ugly head here and there, but we are nowhere near where we used to be, and I thank my Heavenly Father daily for that!

Back to the conference.

We were disappointed to not get tickets to Priesthood, but my sweet adopted dad, Dan, told me that in his experience as a bishop, he almost never could get tickets to sessions people had requested, but that they always ended up going to the session they needed most.  He assured me that Cris was going to the session he needed.

As we watched the Saturday afternoon session, I was absolutely elated to hear that Elder Jeffrey R. Holland would be speaking!  He is my husband's favorite speaker, writer, apostle!  So I was very happy my sweet husband would be in that session.  How could I have ever known what his topic would be?

His talk was titled "Like a Broken Vessel"

Here is a link:

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/like-a-broken-vessel?lang=eng

As he was speaking, I received a text from my sweet father-in-law, who was sitting in the conference 

center with my lovely boys, and our sweet uncle.  It just said "I'm all tears.  How about you?"

Of course I was.  And I knew this was the session they needed to be in

 About a week after conference was over, I could not shake the feeling of writing Elder Holland and telling him a little bit about our family's experience, and thanking him for his talk, and telling him what it meant to me and my husband.

I kept telling myself it was a dumb idea and to just forget it, he's busy, he would never see it.

One night, I absolutely could not sleep because I couldn't quit thinking about all the things I would say to him if I could.  So, I sat up, turned on the light, and told myself that if I started to write and had a stupor of thought, it was not meant to be and I would finally put this idea to bed.  

I started to write, and my hand could not keep up with my brain!  The story of our experience came pouring out of my pen, as well as my gratitude for him and for my Heavenly Father.

I knew the letter was inspired, and so I sent it thinking that even if I never hear back, at least he would know how much his talk meant to me.

Well, not 2 weeks later I received a letter in the mail!!!

The return address was 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

When my husband brought it in (he didn't know I had even written a letter) he threw it on the counter toward me and said, "You got something from the Mormons."

I giggled a little until I saw the return address and my eyes filled with tears!

Of course, Cris had to know what the heck was going on now, so I opened the envelope and there it was!  A letter from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland!

We read it together.

We were both shaking and crying.  I told Cris I just had to write to Elder Holland, and I hoped he didn't mind.  He said, "of course not!"

In the last line of the letter, Elder Holland says that he too will cheer and pray for [my husband].

I have put Cris' name on the prayer role at the temple every 2 weeks for as long as I can remember now, I was fasting every Sunday for him, as well as praying for him.  And now, there is an apostle of the Lord praying for him.

I love my Heavenly Father, and my Savior.

I know they know me and my little teeny family.  And I know they love us with a love I will not understand until I meet my Savior face to face.

I am so grateful that things worked out the way they did.  I am grateful life continues to work out in ways I may not understand, but still trusting that my Savior can see the outcome.