There are lots of reasons to be grateful for my husband, but recently I stopped to ponder how fortunate I am to have a worthy priesthood holder in my home. As a convert, this is not a blessing I have taken for granted, but I must confess that in the last six and a half years of marriage, there have been times when I have forgotten what a wonderful thing this is.
I have been working with an inactive single mom, trying to love her back to church and show her that we still love and care for her. In a recent conversation, I volunteered the services of my husband whenever she needed a blessing of comfort (she is, quite understandably, under a great deal of stress at the moment), and told her that if she or the kids ever got sick, we should be able to easily find a second brother to administer to her.
Earlier this week, she called me at eleven at night in tears. Her youngest, only ten months old, had been admitted into the emergency room. He was having seizures, and she wanted to know if my husband could give him a blessing. Unfortunately, my husband was out of town, but I assured her that if she gave me a few minutes, I could find two brothers who would be willing to come by – which I did.
After making sure she was taken care of and offering prayers in her and her son’s behalf, I settled back into my bed. Since I have a very vivid imagination, I could easily imagine the terror she must feel to have her child in the emergency room. I offered up another prayer of thanks that she was comfortable enough to call me and my husband, as well as one of gratitude to those who were actually able to serve her and her son.
As I lay in bed that night, I thought about how fortunate I was to have a worthy priesthood holder in my home, with something close to 24/7 access. Although he would not have been able to administer to my child, he could have given a blessing of comfort to me while we waited for someone else. In fact, he has given me several blessings throughout this pregnancy that have helped to calm my anxiety and stress at times when I most need them.
And those blessings don’t just extend to me; they also extend to my children. Though they don’t request for blessing as frequently as their mother, we’ve had nights when they woke up terrified from a nightmare and we were unable to calm them down – until my husband gives them a blessing. Before my husband goes out of town on one of his three-to-six day business trip, he gives them a blessing, and they actually behave for at least five minutes – truly a miracle.
As a single convert, I was grateful to have a home teacher who was always willing to come over and give me a blessing – and sometimes offered when I hadn’t considered it. When I was married, I again felt that gratitude. Over time, however, it become something like manna to the Israelites – something that I lived with for so long that I forgot to marvel at what a powerful blessing it was. But there are times when the Lord sees fit to remind us of our blessings, and for that, I am grateful.
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