Again, we have some computer malfunction on my computer! The bane, and the joy of my existence....digital technology! Yesterday Comcast had a major break down! TV, Internet and Phone went zap! I was on the phone with Lori! Someone evidently hit a line in the area, impacting our neighborhood! Why tell you this? Well.....Last week i suddenly decided to back up my computer to an online back up I have! It was kind of odd timing, I was outside working and had lots i wanted to get done. But I went in, cleaned up the registry, defragged and then backed it all up! I was kind of frustrated with myself for being distracted by this task, but I just kept on it! Then I started downloading my extensive photo library to flash drives. One for each person whom these photos would matter. I love, no, I cherish these pictures! I started with the larger files, Lori's and Regina's. I have many of the photos they have taken themselves as well as my own. I downloaded almost a Gb of Lori's, she probably has copies of them already. Some of Regina's were only stored on my computer, including her brother's wedding. I have tons of other files but they were either mine or shared with me. I have all Scott/Nicole's and Mandy's wedding pictures, including those professionally taken, but so do they! So long story short, I am really quite grateful i did this nutty thing! I will get my CPU into the shop tomorrow, and I am confident i can get my important records and photo files restored easily. I had birth certificates, and other important legal files, e mails from grandkids and other precious stuff stored digitally! Whew! It is not lost!
I share this story of averted crisis, because today in our RS and SS classes we discussed something I had been wondering about and studying in some depth. It involved the receipt of spiritual gifts... to some is given some, others are given different gifts. I have been blessed with just this gift that i just shared about. You reading this may be blessed with "bigger" as it were; impacting many lives or important issues. I have a simple gift! I feel things about people, or about future events. I often just this to myself. Sometimes they are just for my understanding of someone, sometimes it is about an event. Sometimes it is information, requiring no action by me, other times I may have warning feelings. I often watch the incumbent crises which occur when ignored, or reap the benefits of acting upon them. Usually, I keep these to myself to protect them! They are very personal and important parts of me that I hold very close to my heart. I do treat them as if sacred. I also think that these are so simple that they are only valuable to me. I have suffered greatly by ignoring or intellectualizing some of these promptings,and sometimes I have just been ready to assist another, or provide some service because I attended to these feelings. Sometimes regarding family, friends, safety, injury, finances, and sometimes day to day "headaches". Last week,for instance, we were watching Randon and Joelle for Jaime. Tom and Richard were going errand running and wanted to take Randon. I am weird about car seats by some people's standards. (They remain nameless here to protect the guilty!) I take alot of teasing about being so protective. So, when I felt that it was a bad idea to take Randon, I avoided any potential teasing and kept quiet. I kept feeling that it was not a good idea; I intellectualized a bit... it will be ok; it would give me a chance to just play or read to Joelle one on one; blah blah. Then as the truck backed out of the garage, I ran after it, and just took Randon! I said little, just that he needed to stay. Twenty minutes later Randon began to suffer explosive, major blow out style diarrhea! No life was saved, no tragedy averted. He was not ill, or unhappy....just amazingly messy! Not once but 3 times! So, I was happy for Tom and Richard's sake that they were not in the bank (without diapers and such) with Randon at the time! I was also happy for Randon that he was not any more uncomfortable! So, prompting? Maybe. Some would argue that if I had paid no attention and it was important, something else would have occurred to prevent the episodes. Maybe. But I am still grateful.
I am grateful for the things I've learned when I blew it too! Life altering or matters of convenience, it still feels like a miracle; a gift of the spirit; a gift from The Lord to me!
In our discussions at church today, it was mentioned that the day to day miracles were a result of faith that God cares about our individual day to day activities! That only one who knows their Father is actively involved and a real, loving parent is aware of the little daily miracles. It was decided this was solid faith, unshakable faith. Something not everyone enjoyed having in their lives. My days are filled with these little miracles! I do not experience big life altering Alma the Younger , or Thomas Monson type experiences! I just witness in tiny things the atonement in the lives of all I know. I witness The Lord's Hand in lives of all. I see the miracle of every child's little step! I felt somewhat of an ungrateful, selfish brat for not sharing and acknowledging this to other people. It has been my gift to just "know" that was so! My Father in Heaven is indeed my Father! Loving and actively involved in my life, and the lives of all His children. It seems I have always known that, and that You are His child also. But, I also thought you knew that, and so much more than I could ever know, that sharing what I know would seem silly to you. Now i am starting to worry this sounds like a See How Great I am sharing. Not so! It is See how amazed I am. If I am so blessed, imagine how greatly blessed you must be!! I used to think these little experiences of mine were for those of little faith; that if I had more faith I'd have the huge life altering type of experiences that would warrant publicizing! How much greater blessing could there be than to Know God's Love, and His Plan; and to Trust Him with the results!
And I feel like sharing this....do not know why, just do! Please treat it with care, it is so special to me!