Spiritual Sunday

What do you get when you mix a UFC fighting match on TV, a crowd of testosterone filled men, and alcohol?






This.....

The.End.




Okay, not really, and certainly not my spiritual thought for the day, but I can bear my testimony of the fact that when you mix a bunch of beer influenced young men with an UFC fighting match on in the background. Someone.is.going.to.get.hurt.
Just saying........

Yes, that is my oldest son C. Yes, he is fine. Nothing broken, no disc damage, just a severely jammed neck and muscle spasms.

I did get a spiritual thought from our 3 hours in the ER. As soon as I dropped Sissy off to Splenda at the church while he was setting up chairs, I could see a shadow briefly cross his face and I knew he was thinking, "Me and the hour and 10 minute wrestle SOLO?" But, what to do?

I toddled C over to the ER while he moaned and groaned in pain with every little bump I happened to hit in the road. I should have grabbed my scriptures or my 3 conference editions of the Ensign that I am sorely behind on, but didn't think that far ahead. Instead, once they gave him his morphine shot and he was out, I was forced to read whatever outdated magazines the hospital happened to have in the exam room. After reading about parenting, which confirmed that I sucked, I stumbled upon a small little magazine that was titled Guideposts. It was filled with real life uplifting stories of people with their challenges. One story touched me deeply and the man writing it shared a very profound thought. Well, for me anyway.

The story was about his wife's battle with depression for the 60 years they have been married. Not only the battle she faced, but he as well, as her husband, having to watch and deal with her. He related how his boss one day called in him to talk about his challenges. She said to him, "Think about the difference between thankfulness and praise. Thankfulness is us-centered; when things work out the way we want, we're thankful. Praise is God -centered; praise means becoming aware of God in your life right now.......Praise is the beginning of healing."
I love that thought. I pondered on it for several minutes. Then the intercom came on in the exam room informing us that the LDS Elders were there with the sacrament if anyone wanted to partake. I headed to the conference room and was met by three very elderly gentlemen. One was shaking so bad with palsy, that I feared he would fall right over. They introduced themselves, and since I was the only one there, proceeded.

Can I tell you how humbling it is to watch a very old man, gingerly get on his knees and pray? How seeing another very aged man shake with palsy yet manage to hold a hymn book and read a verse? And to watch the third man struggle to get himself down on one knee to offer the prayer on the water. Can I tell you that the Spirit is the same whether you are in your home ward, or a small conference room in a hospital. The sacrament ordinance is the same, and with my thoughts leaning towards praise more than thankfulness at those moments, it was particularly meaningful.

I made it back to church in time to pick up Sissy from nursery and greet a few of my ward family members. Splenda survived the Sacrament mtg wrestle match, and luckily in his case, versus C's, no one got hurt.