In preparing for my daughter’s return from her 18-month mission in two weeks, we have been helping her accomplish her plans of going back to school. There have been some stumbling blocks along the way but with some determination and lots of prayer, we have accomplished this feat with the help of many miracles.
First, we live in Alabama and she has been accepted into Brigham Young University in Idaho where she started her degree before her mission. We needed to get her there to start school on September 14th. With a limited budget for travel we managed to find an airline ticket for under $200 to Salt Lake City and a ride from my brother’s house in Kaysville (30 miles from Salt Lake City) to Rexburg, Idaho where the school is located.
Next thing we needed was to find a way to pay for her semester. After applying for a grant, she was able to acquire enough money for tuition and books for her schooling in the fall. All she has to do is find a job when she gets there and she will be on her way.
The last requirement was to find a place for her to live. Many of the apartments were full already but with a few last minute suggestions we found a nice place that was still available for rent which also gave her a discount because of her mission service and it had a vegetable garden growing on the property shared by the students. Wow. That was amazing. Miracles still happen.
The week before last, I needed two names to be cleared to take to the temple. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) we research family names that have passed on and then seal them together as a family by the power of the holy priesthood. There are some qualifications which apply. Namely the person we do the work for must be born over 110 years ago otherwise we have to ask for special permission.
When my nephew found my grandparents’ two children on the newly digitally indexed New York Death Index, I wanted to seal them together. My grandparents had lost 5 of their 6 children when they were babies during the 1920’s because of a family illness that was passed on. It was a difficult time for my grandparents. But because of the sealing power of the priesthood, we could seal those children to them for eternity.
I applied for permission to seal them together and then found out it took almost a month to get permission back by email. With so many people all applying for permission at the same time the family history department told me it would take a miracle to get the email back in one day. I was planning a trip to our local temple that week, which was four hours away, but with no permission I would have to wait. The next day I checked my email and there was the permission to seal them together done in one day! Miracles still happen.
As a people we all have read or heard of the miracles from biblical times. These are widely accepted as truths but in today’s world this is not always the case.
From a talk given in April of 2001 LDS Church General Conference, Sydney S. Reynolds said this:
“I believe that all of us can bear witness to these small miracles. We know children who pray for help to find a lost item and find it. We know of young people who gather the courage to stand as a witness of God and feel His sustaining hand. We know friends who pay their tithing (10% donation to the LDS Church) with the last of their money and then, through a miracle, find themselves able to pay their tuition or their rent or somehow obtain food for their family.”
Miracles do happen today but we have to have faith in Jesus Christ to believe that if we put forth the effort and keep trying that all will work out for our good. This has been proven to be true so many times in many people’s lives.
From our modern revelation, Doctrine and Covenants we read:
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8. For I am God, and mine arm is not shortened; and I will show miracles, signs, and wonders, unto all those who believe on my name.
9 And whoso shall ask it in my name in faith, they shall cast out devils; they shall heal the sick; they shall cause the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak, and the lame to walk.
10 And the time speedily cometh that great things are to be shown forth unto the children of men;” (D&C: 35:8-10)
God does not want us to be hopeless. He wants us to try and to keep trying. Miracles still happen today and every day.
Valerie Steimle has been writing as a family advocate for over 25 years. As a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she promotes Christian living in her writings and is the mother of nine children and grandmother to twelve. Mrs. Steimle authored six books and is a contributing writer to several online websites. To her, time is the most precious commodity we have and knows we should spend it wisely.
To read more of Valerie's work, visit her at her website, The Blessings of Family Life.
