Day 138

     Katie had some tummy troubles yesterday and she was a little less "perky" and more tired.  Although SHE wouldn't admit that!  She is doing good.  The doctor said she should stay about the same until we begin the second part of this phase - that is when it is supposed to get really hard.  But to date, she has done better than anyone could have anticipated.  We are grateful.  We are glad for the power of prayer and blessings.
     As I was looking through my "treasures" I came across an Ensign from 2003, which I had saved, because I loved this particular article.  At that time, my dad had passed away (the year before), my mom was very sick, and I was still single.  I was in my late 30's and unknown to me at the time, I was still three years away from getting married.  Back then, I wasn't sure if I would get married or be able to have children.  This article by Dallin H. Oaks was a guide and a strength to me through those next few difficult years.  I read it today with "new eyes".  I was blessed to get married to a wonderful man and to have two beautiful children, but nothing could have prepared me for what was still to come!  Scott and I continue to have to deal with the "agency" of others.  We are having to stand firm in the face of that adversity.  We are also needing to trust in the Lord's will and timing with our sweet Katie.  Here are some excerpts from that beautiful article on "Timing":
    "The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Faith means trust - trust in God's will, trust in His way of doing things, and trust in His timetable.  We should not try to impose our timetable on His....The issue for us is trusting God enough to trust also His timing.  If we can truly believe He has our welfare at heart, may we not let His plans unfold as He thinks best?  The same is true with the second coming and with all those matters wherein our faith needs to include faith in the Lord's timing for us personally, not just in His overall plans and purposes.
    "...Indeed, we cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord's will and in the Lord's timing.  In our service in the Lord's Church we should remember that when is just as important as who, what, where and how.
    "...The Lord's timing also applies to the important events of our personal lives.  A great scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants declares that a particular spiritual experience will come to us "in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will" (D&C 88:68).  This principle applies to revelation and to all of the most important events in our lives: birth, marriage, death and even our moves from place to place. 
   "It is not enough that we are going in the right direction.  The timing must be right....Because of things over which we have no control, we cannot plan and bring to pass everything we desire in our lives.  Many important things will occur in our lives that we have not planned, and not all of them will be welcome.  Even our most righteous desires may elude us or come in different ways or at different times than we have sought to plan.
   "...Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ prepares us for whatever life brings.  This kind of faith prepares us to deal with life's opportunities - to take advantage of those that are received and to persist through the disappointments of those that are lost.  In the exercise of that faith, we should commit ourselves to the priorities and standards we will follow on matters we do not control and persist faithfully in those commitments, whatever happens to us because of the agency of others or the timing of the Lord.  When we do this, we will have a constancy in our lives that will give us direction and peace.  Whatever the circumstances beyond our control, our commitments and standards can be constant.
   "...Wise are those who make this commitment: I will put the Lord first in my life, and I will keep His commandments.  The performance of that commitment is within everyone's control.  We can fulfill that commitment without regard to what others decide to do, and that commitment will anchor us no matter what timing the Lord directs for the most important events in our lives.
    "...If we have faith in God and if we are committed to the fundamentals of keeping His commandments and putting Him first in our lives, we do not need to plan every single event - even every important event - and we should not feel rejected or depressed if some things - even some very important things - do not happen at the time we had planned or hoped or prayed. 
   "Commit yourself to put the Lord first in your life, keep His commandments, and do what the Lord's servants ask you to do....Faith and trust in the Lord give us the strength to accept and persist, whatever happens in our lives...
   "Stand ready to accept the Lord's planning and the agency of others in matters that inevitably affect you.  Plan, of course, but fix your planning on personal commitments that will carry you through no matter what happens.  Anchor your life to eternal principles, and act upon those principles whatever the circumstances and whatever the actions of others.  Then you can await the Lord's timing and be sure of the outcome in eternity. 
   "The most important principle of timing is to take the long view.  Mortality is just a small slice of eternity, but how we conduct ourselves here - what we become by our actions and desires, confirmed by our covenants and the ordinances administered to us by proper authority - will shape our destiny for all eternity.  As the prophet Amulek taught, 'This life is the time for men to prepare to meet God' (Alma 34:32).  That reality should help us take the long view - the timing of eternity." (Timing, Dallin H. Oaks, Ensign, October 2003, 10 -17).