This past weekend has been amazing to say the least. I was able to help a friend in a way I wish I never would have had to but also was so grateful she was willing to come to me in such a hard moment in her life.
A few weeks ago we had planned on getting away for our anniversary. We had to cancel our plans at the last minute when Dan's squadron got assigned punishment shift due to the actions of a few of the workers. So we re-planned our anniversary trip for this weekend. The plan was to do our anniversary Friday night through Sunday morning and then head to Lafayette to stay with Dan's parents for the remainder of the weekend for Paul's birthday.
On Wednesday we learned about hurricane Gustav (which by the way is supposed to hit anytime now) and by Thursday night we had decided it was too unsafe for us to travel there and possibly get stuck and not be able to return home. As it is, our family there might have a good chance of needing to evacuate themselves and join us up here in Shreveport.
So anyways, back to my story. So come Friday morning when I got to work I was quite upset that we couldn't go to Lafayette. I knew we didn't have a choice and that it wasn't safe to go but all I wanted to do is kick my feet like a little kid and scream, "NO! This is not fair! I WANT TO GO TO LAFAYETTE." and inside, I basically did. Dan and I decided to at least still celebrate our anniversary and just stay in the local area. We stayed in a hotel about 20 minutes from here Friday night. Saturday morning we got a phone call from him supervisor that he had to work Sunday. We had originally planned on staying two nights and then returning home for church Sunday morning but then had to return home Saturday in order for Dan to work Sunday morning. We did our best to enjoy the day on Saturday (we went to a local waterpark and out to dinner) but both of us couldn't get the idea out of our heads of him having to work Sunday morning. Come Sunday morning I went to church by myself while Dan worked.
We had talked the night before and decided we weren't going to give up the fight. We were going to go camping Sunday night into Monday and STILL do something fun and different for our weekend. We invited some friends along as well. At church yesterday (as well as from watching the news) I learned how much this storm is really supposed to effect Shreveport and realized it wasn't wise to go camping. We knew the hurricane wasn't supposed to hit here quite yet but knew we better be safe that sorry. We have both been trying to work harder lately at being prepared for what Heavenly Father needs us to do. So it didn't make sense to go camping and take that chance.
No matter how bummed I was about all or weekend plans that kept on falling through I wish I never had been. I had been praying all weekend long for Heavenly Father to help me not to be bitter about it. I knew that it wasn't important that I understand why things were that way but rather I feel at peace about it all. Yesterday afternoon we laid down to watch a movie and take a nap. I woke up hearing my phone vibrate, something I normally would sleep through. I saw that a good friend of mine had tried calling and for some reason I felt the urgency to call her back rather than go back to sleep.
This friend answered her phone in tears asking if she could come over because she felt like she had no place to go. She had been praying we would be home. As she came over and revealed an extreme trial in her life right now I felt SO SO SO privileged to be the friend she chose to lean on at such a hard time. She felt bad to put her burdens on me but I felt extremely blessed that she chose me and felt that I could possibly help and comfort her in some way. We talked for quite some time and eventually was able to have Dan give her a blessing and teach her the importance about how the Bishop of our ward is there to help ease her burdens. The spirit was so so strong during the blessing, I could feel Heavenly Father's love wrapping his arms around her and comforting all of us in the room.
As she left our home last night Dan and I couldn't help but ponder on Heavenly Father's great plan in our lives. We were DETERMINED to go out town this past weekend and we would have had Heavenly Father not intervened and kept us where we needed to be. As I had been praying this past weekend to feel comforted over the entire situation I had begun to feel at peace. I knew we were home for a reason and that reason was my dear, dear friend. I am so grateful that we listened to the spirit and knew we should stay home this weekend despite how hard the decision seemed. I am so grateful to have a loving husband that was worthy to help my friend as well last night by giving her a blessing.
Heavenly Father is slowly but surely answering my prayers as to why we are here in Louisiana at this time. Both Dan I have grown to love Louisiana very much. We do miss our families but we both know this is where we are supposed to be. We have been given many opportunities to serve those around us and share our testimonies. Others have seen something different about us and I am grateful that through Heavenly Father's hands we have been able to share with them exactly what that is.
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