We are getting close to the light at end of the tunnel and we are grateful for that. The semester has gone by quickly, but it was hard at the beginning. I admire my husband very much and against his will I am writing this just to record it for the future (sometimes its necessary to remind my husband that this blog is for us too and not just for those who read it.) He has worked so hard and we so proud that he has gotten outstanding grades so far this semester and I am sure it will continue. Benji will learn so much from him about dedication, hard work, and humility.
Today is one of those day in which I have to remember that even though we don't have an abundance, we are comfortable and have more than a lot of people in other places. During today's testimonies, I felt the prompting that I have to be so grateful and not ask for more than what I have now. These are very difficult times for many people - a brother in our ward lost his job after working there many years, another person just lost a family member, another sister's granddaughter almost got kidnapped while she was visiting her, my sister in law - who is 7 months pregnant - and her family are getting kicked out of their apartment 10 days before Christmas because of no fault of their own, and my own sister and brother in law in Mexico have both taken big pay cuts at their jobs and have had to work extra.
Somehow all of these experiences helps us to grow and to learn something and they remind us just how important it is to always have the true spirit of Christmas with us and to always be willing to help other people who are in need.
I want to remember an experience that we had last year. I had only been here for a few months and Benji had just been born. I felt sad that my mom wasn't here to help me or to meet her grandson and I spent a lot of time being sad and wondering how long we would have to wait before we could go down and see my family in Mexico because we had already spent so much money on airplane tickets and the documents to get my visa. Daniel was working two jobs and was gone a lot of the time. One day I was checking the mail and I found a letter that didn't have a return address and when I opened it, 10 one hundred dollar bills fell out onto the ground. I took out a letter that was inside, written on a computer. I wasn't sure if the bills were real because I still wasn't familiar with the money here. I called Daniel and told him and he couldn't believe it and told me that he would look at them later. My sister in law Kristalyn stopped by later and I showed her the letter and she helped me read it and it was from "a friend of the Easter Bunny" and it said that the money was to help us so that my mom could meet her grandson. This experience reminds me that there are always people who are thinking about us even when we think that what we are going through is the hardest situation. Doing things for other people always leaves a mark on their lives.
We never found out who it was that sent us that money, but we do know that it was no one from our immediate family. The best reward though, is that I will never forget when Benji met my parents for the first time and the smiles on their faces.
I want to end with this quote that I took from my sister-in-law Katie's blog and it applies very well to all of our trials.
"Each of us will have our own Fridays -- those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We will all experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.
But I testify to you in the name of the one who conquered death -- Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.
No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come."
--Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin
3 comments:
You are such a great example Charbel. Love you lots and can't wait to see you in about two weeks!!!!
Beautiful, sweet and tender blog, Chabel! Thank you so much for sharing this experience and your thoughts.
I have missed your blogs this week, but this was worth the wait. thanks for sharing your thoughts, it is true, most of the time, we have things pretty good, and there are always those out there who have it harder. Thanks for thinking of us during this time, too! We love you guys!
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