The Priesthood

So today was a big day. Jackson turned twelve yesterday and was ordained a Deacon today after church. I am so proud of him. Not sure there is a better twelve year old boy in all of the world. He is so prepared and so mature. He seems to have such a good understanding of his duties and what having the Priesthood means. His ordination was beautiful. The blessing was so fitting for Jackson. Shawn blessed him to have strength through the next few years. To be able to withstand the temptations that would come to him and to be a strength and a beacon of light to his friends. The spirit was very strong. Last year when we went through the open house at the Draper temple Jackson talked about the peaceful feeling he felt there. Today after the ordination he said he felt that same peaceful feeling and he recognized it as the Holy Ghost. He is excited about going to the temple and doing baptisms and fulfilling all of his duties as a Deacon.

Twelve is a great age, I wish we could stay here awhile.

job well done...

So I haven't been great at keeping this journal up. A lot happened to us in 2009, beginning in 2008, things that should be recorded, learned from, and remembered. We had our first bout of financial troubles...lucky us it was our first, one thing I have learned is that there is no guarantee it will be our last. It has been a hard couple years. The first year I didn't know if we could make it. The pressure of it all felt so overwhelming to me. I didn't think I had the strength to get through it. My first inclination was to look for a way out, in essence just give up. I remember being at a wedding with my friend Barbie, and just crying because I didn't know what to do. I didn't really feel like I had anyone to talk to about it. I could talk to Shawn of course, but he was already feeling the stress of it, and us talking about it just seemed to make it worse, and I couldn't share with him my deepest fears, and regrets, be cause I didn't want to hurt him or make him feel like I had lost confidence in him. I couldn't really even talk to my family, because they don't always seem to take my struggles seriously, I guess maybe because they don't realize that I actually do have things that are hard in my life...
Anyway, so I was talking to Barbie, I have always felt I could confide in her. And she was so inspired in her advice to me. She assured me that no matter what happened that it was Me and it was Shawn, and that as long as we worked together we could overcome anything, and the things we couldn't overcome, wouldn't really matter in the end...she was right. From that moment I only looked forward. Shawn and I went to work together these last couple of years, and have been blessed with miracle after miracle. I just want to acknowledge that, and be grateful for it. The crisis has now passed, but I have learned to never take anything for granted. I have also learned that only Heavenly Father knows what comes next for us, and that he is the one that will help us through our trials. The future for me now is filled a little bit with uncertainty, where I was so certain before. But I am also filled with peace, because I know we can weather a storm. I love this quote by Elder L. Tom Perry

" We can't predict all the struggles and storms in life, not even the ones just around the next corner, but as persons of faith and hope, we know beyond the shadow of any doubt that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and the best is yet to come."

I truly believe this, in the end all that matters is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and if I believe him, I do know that the best is yet to come....