No Coincidences

Tag: love

  • The Greatest Gift Man can Receive in Mortality

    The Greatest Gift Man can Receive in Mortality

    The Holy Ghost is the Holy Spirit; he is the Holy Spirit promised the saints at baptism, or in other words the Holy Spirit of Promise, this exalted name-title signifying that the promised receipt of the Holy Spirit, as on the day of Pentecost, is the greatest gift man can receive in mortality.

    Bruce R. McConkie

    I recently read this quote and the truth of the statement hit me.  This seemed a fitting thought after last week’s post talking about the gift the gospel has been in my life. I believe that quote is a powerful reminder for those of us who have been blessed with this great gift.  The gospel is a blessing in part due to this great gift, the gift of the Holy Ghost. 

    I can’t wait to teach Ivy of this most extraordinary gift and to watch her receive it for herself.  I know the Holy Ghost is a guiding force and has blessed my life more than I will ever understand while on this earth.  One day I will know.

    I’m grateful for this constant companion (D&C 121:46), this friend, this comforter.  I am never alone when the Holy Ghost is within me.  What a blessing that gift is.  The greatest in this life.

    WORD FOR THE DAY-03JAN17 | Living Waters
  • What to do with all the Love

    What to do with all the Love

    I was meditating and thanking God for all He has given me in this life.  It was the day after Thanksgiving.  I had just watched Ivy with so much love around her, as detailed in Love has Afforded Me Much.  Ivy was surrounded by aunts, uncles, grandparents, great-grandparents, cousins, second cousins, great uncles, great aunts and the list goes on.  She was receiving so much love.

    That visual again brought me to realizing and remembering that was me 30 years ago.  I was the one having love poured out on me.  It brought me to a repeated thought: what did I do to deserve this?

    What did I do to deserve the family I was born into?  Now, how lucky I am to be one half of the uniting of two families – the Quackenbushes and the Cannons.  How blessed will Ivy be from a life of love from those two extended families she’s been born into? 

    How blessed have I been from being born into the Leaches and the Quackenbushes? An un-quantifiable amount of blessed.

    Where does that blessing come from?  Where does it stem from?  What was the catalyst of this blessed, love-filled life I’ve been given?  The catalyst, the starting point, is the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Three of my four grandparents converted to the church.  My fourth grandparent came from a faithful family back to the days of Joseph Smith.  I am forever grateful for my grandparents and the generations of love and family they’ve created.

    A similar story can be said from Beth’s side of the family, the Cannons and Vauterlauses.

    The thought that occurred to me while meditating, to add to how Love has Afforded me Much, was this: I started to pray to God to please bless all those who didn’t have all the love Ivy had on Thanksgiving Day.  All those who don’t have great family dynamics, who feel lonely, who feel lost, who feel afraid; I asked God to let them feel His love.  I asked Him to spare no angels in pouring out blessings on those who don’t feel loved in this world.

    Then it occurred to me.  Love has Afforded me Much.  God has given me a surplus of love.  A love I can’t quantify.  It’s my responsibility to share that excess of love I’ve been blessed with, with God’s children, my brothers and sisters across the globe.  I pray that I can share the love that’s been given to me with those around me.

    I believe the greatest thing I can do to share that love, the greatest thing any one of us can do that have been given (Luke 12:48) so (D&C 82:3) much (Boyd K. Packer), is to share the source of that love.  The source of that love is Jesus Christ, His Gospel, His Church.  It is our responsibility to share with others what has blessed us so.

    Love is important.  Supporting someone, listening to someone, loving someone, these are all noble.  But what of generational love?  What of the love that permeates through families – of children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren?  That’s what my grandparents created.  That love started with missionaries sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with three of my grandparents, and with the gospel being shared to one of my Great Great Grandparents by Joseph Smith.

    I am grateful for this Church.  I am grateful for the blessing it has been to me and my family.  I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for allowing me this greatest of all blessings.  I feel a noble responsibility, a beautiful weight to share it with others.  My wish is that the world can accept Jesus Christ and experience the love he has to share. 

    I love Jesus Christ, and I am forever grateful to Him. 

  • Do I Learn from Ivy?

    Do I Learn from Ivy?

    Sometimes I find myself praying for God to change Ivy.  Not big changes, stuff like, “help her to not be grumpy,” “make her sleep well,” “help her to be happy.”

    Then something hit me that I of course knew but needed to come face to face with. Ivy is just going through her motions.  It’s more important for me to learn to control mine. 

    Ivy can be grumpy, mean, crying, not sleeping, screaming, and causing all other sorts of havoc.  That’s not what matters.  What matters is my patience, my learning, my growth.

    I’ll say it again, Ivy’s going through her motions, and I’m learning to control mine.

    There will come a point when she will be responsible for her actions and will be accountable for her behavior.  How can I expect her to be great at controlling her behavior as she gets older if I haven’t mastered my own behavior yet?  She will learn from my (and Beth’s) example.  It makes me think of the Macklemore song called Growing Up where he says,

    “I’ll be patient, one more month

    You’ll wrap your fingers round my thumb

    Times are changing, I know

    But who am I if I’m the person you become

    If I’m still growing up”

    (Side note, as writing this I almostttt lost my patience as I pulled a piece of paper out of Ivy’s mouth and kept her from deleting everything I just typed.  The joys of fatherhood 😊)

    Back to my point, Ivy does what she does and is what she is, innocent and perfect.  I’m the one that needs to change.

    So, when I find myself mistakenly saying, “Heavenly Father, please comfort Ivy and make her know she is safe and watched over so she can sleep tonight,” instead I say, “Heavenly Father, give me the strength, energy, and patience, that even if Ivy doesn’t sleep a wink tonight, I can help her know she is watched over, I can make her feel comforted, and I can have complete patience with her as she helps me to grow.”

    I am eternally grateful for fatherhood and all it is teaching me.

  • Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

    Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

    We’ve been having a difficult time with Ivy’s sleeping the last couple weeks.  This morning I woke up and Beth was awake.  I asked if Ivy got up during the night.

    Beth laughed.

    Not a good sign.

    Beth said yes Ivy did get up during the night.  She said she was rocking Ivy and could tell that Ivy was not going to go back to sleep.  So she did something drastic.

    Warning: this strategy is not recommended, and we know full and well this is NOT a good idea. 

    Beth said she GOT IN IVY’S CRIB WITH HER.  My first thoughts, it didn’t break?

    I looked at Beth and said instead, “…is that ok?”

    Beth responded that of course no, it’s not ideal.  It’s not safe and the crib could have broken.  All bad things.  Like the title of the post says, Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures. 

    Beth continued to tell me that after a while she got out of the crib and successfully returned to our bedroom. A hero had slain the dragon. A cute little booty-up-in-the-air-dragon, but a dragon nonetheless.

    She said she got into bed and Ivy started to stir and cry.  Beth asked me if I remembered in the middle of the night her saying, “oh no.”  Beth told me I then started patting her on her back.  I vaguely remember this.

    But then a miracle happened!  Ivy went back to sleep.  Hallelujah.

    After hearing Beth’s tale, I started to meditate to prepare for the day. My mind drifted to this story as the mind is wont to do during meditation. I thought about that moment when Ivy cried and very well should have continued screaming until one of us came to get her.

    A past successful night of sleep resistance. The smug face of a champion saying, “I’m the boss here,” cross-legged and all.

    The coolest visual came to me as I was meditating. You see, that night was the first time in months that I slept a night without getting out of bed. MONTHS.

    This is the visual that came to me. Ivy started to cry, and God said, “someone do something!” And a legion, thousands of angels came pouring out of heaven to comfort and console Ivy back to sleep. Heavenly Father was like, “give that man one full night in his bed.”

    It was a true miracle and that’s the only possible explanation.

    So I say, thank you Heavenly Father, I sure needed that.

    After a good night’s sleep

    Sleep training here we come.

  • Never Forget

    Never Forget

    It was a normal day for fifth grade Brayden.  My fifth-grade teacher was one of those memorable educators.  Mr. Adams was equal parts kind and disciplinarian, stern and patient.  To this day, still one of my favorite teachers.

    I remember little else from that day. 

    What I do remember was this:

    In class that day, first thing in the morning a square tv was brought in on a stand.  Kids today likely can’t picture what I’m describing.  Yes, the tv was square, and it was wheeled in on a stand. 

    “Yay!” The class shouted.  What a treat!  A movie this early in the day?  The surprise and joy were nearly overwhelming for a class of 10- and 11-year-olds

    Yet something was different.  All classrooms from K-12 know the excitement of a tv being wheeled in.  Even the teacher showed pleasure on these special days.  A well-earned break.  A day off on a technicality. 

    Something was different.  As Mr. Adams wheeled in the television and plugged it in, there was no joy.  He was oddly somber.  Remember, disciplinarian, stern, never somber. 

    What was happening?

    Mr. Adams turned to us.  He was grave, and he was serious.

    He told us that this was a day we would never forget.  Interesting that’s the most vivid memory from that day: Mr. Adams telling me I would never forget this day.

    20 years later I remember those moments.

    He turned on the television to some news station and our 5th grade class watched the worst ever attack on American soil.

    Never forget.  But have we?

    As opinions run rampant, protests get violent, arguments over masks, arguments over vaccines, arguments over Texas, fighting, arguing, contention, hatred. 

    Beth and I watched a 6-episode documentary titled, 9/11 One Day in America.  This documentary was extraordinarily well done.  Viewers be warned.  It is deep, dark, and heavy.  Just as that day was deep, dark, and heavy.  A tragic day in American history. 

    Some things struck me as I watched:  teamwork, bravery, compassion, love.  This documentary was filled with extraordinary examples of selfless service to others in danger.  It occurred to me, a New Yorker that might have bumped someone out of the way for a taxi was hours later putting their life in danger for a stranger in a stairwell.

    I hope we never forget that day.  I wish it didn’t take a tragedy to unite a country.  Unfortunately, the pride cycle is real.  We couldn’t be more divided now.  Maybe if we truly remember, feel, and consider the unity that existed during and immediately after 9/11, we can reclaim that love for our fellow man. 

    That is my prayer for our country.

    Never Forget.