...so here goes...
...if any of you drove past our house on Saturday, you would have noticed...
....nothing.
...because I actually took 3 hours off from my normal schedule of never sitting down for more than 5 minutes. The vacuum remained in the closet like a soldier asleep at his watch, the washer wondered what day it was, since it remained unusually quiet for a normal Saturday and I didn't dirty one pan in the kitchen.
...I watched THE game...
... BYU vs. UTAH.
I have to admit, it was really exiting...
...in the 4th quarter!
BYU came out with a plan and it worked, but at the last minute (actually, the last second) Utah blocked a kick leaving BYU feeling blue.
...so the game got me to thinking about how I have gone through life with a plan, just like BYU Coach Whittingham, and how often that plan goes by the wayside. I like to think of myself as, if not highly intelligent, at least highly logical(I'm not really either one, but I like to think of myself that way). The problem with logic is that sometimes it doesn't take into account the heart and how illogical it can be. Also, my logic can blind me from seeing the possibilities in front of me.
In 1987, I was feeling good about my logical plan. I had a husband, who loved me, and 4 kids, whom I loved. We were living in a beautiful home, across the street from the Denver Temple. I was close enough to Kansas to visit home on a regular basis. Our kids were smart, good looking, fun and funny. An even number, 4, perfect number for the car we owned, perfect number for sitting around the supper table together.
Things were as I planned. Logical, right?
That's why I was surprised one evening, while we were sitting around the supper table with the logical number of chairs for our family. We were all there, Matthew, Aubrey, Andy, Michael and next to me, little D., when somewhere between forks full of spaghetti noodles, I heard a baby cry. I looked up to see if anyone else had heard it, but they just continued slurping their noodles, red sauce dripping from their chins. Nothing...then I heard it again, newborn crying, and I knew...
...someone was missing. Later that evening I told Matthew about my experience, hoping he would say, Oh, yeah, I heard the neighbor kids out back or maybe he would tell me it was a cat outside.
...he didn't.
...he just listened. Then I told him that I had a strong impression that someone was missing.
...again, he just listened...
...and then he smiled.
...so when the first of April came with the usual excitement of spring flowers, warm temperatures and summer break not so far away, I also began experiencing the excitement of morning sickness. Eating breakfast with the garbage can by my knee, elastic pants were more comfortable than zippers and dragging my body out of bed in the morning was a monumental task and I knew...
...someone wouldn't be missing for long.
...and the plan changed.
I didn't need an ultra-sound to tell me it was a girl. The pattern was severe morning sickness with girls, not so much with boys, and this was severe, heaving, toe curling, hair pulling, morning sickness...for the whole 9 months.
...the new plan was just to survive each day. But there was one thing that I planned that I had complete control over...
...her name...
...Lauren.
In Latin it means, Laurel-crowned, signifying glory, honor and victory. I knew that this little girl, this "change of plan", must be an angel, because God went out of His way to send her to me. Well, not just me, but all of us, because we all have been blessed for claiming her as our Lauren. Our Lauren would arrive in December and I imagined her trailing clouds of glory, wearing an angel's crown of laurel in her downy soft hair.
They say the eyes are the window to the heart, big eyes, big heart. Her eyes were big, because she came with a big, loving heart.
God wanted her, this perfect little spirit, to come to a home where she would be cherished....
...and cherish her we do, all of us.
Grandpa Bush adored her, her siblings have to check on her on a regular basis, they are sad if she is sad, they are happy when she is happy, her dad never had a better child to coach and I can't go a day without talking to her, just to hear her sweet, child-like voice.
...and so while Kyle Whittingham's plan didn't guarantee him the win he wanted, my change of plans have given me blessings I never expected.
One of our church leaders, D. Todd Christofferson, taught the following:
True success in this life comes in consecrating our lives—that is, our time and choices—to God’s purposes. In so doing, we permit Him to raise us to our highest destiny.
My destiny will be beautiful, because I will have spent my life having Lauren for a daughter. She is smart. She is gentle. She is soft spoken. She is a leader. She is gifted and she is a gift.
My plan was 1 husband and 4 children. The Lord suggested otherwise. I am blessed for having listened.
Happy Birthday, Angel Lauren...
...I cherish you.
2 comments:
So true. You couldn't have said it any bettery. Love ya Lala.
i got emotional reading that!! We are ALL so blessed that you listened to the spirit. What a testimony builder that Heavenly Fathers plan is always the best, even if we don't quite understand it at the time! Happy Birthday our sweet Lauren:)
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