Life

My sister, Ashley wrote a wonderful post about grandma birdie, and I really should just cut and paste it because she is a much more eloquent writer...but I won't
My sweet Grandma Birdie was diagnosed with lymphoma last fall.  She tolerated her treatments and Christmas Eve we were told she was in remission.  The best Christmas present EVER!  A few weeks after that she noticed lumps coming back, they went and did biopsy's and discovered the cancer was back, only it had mutated to another form of Lymphoma.  She is currently receiving another round of medication.  For those of you who know grandma knows she had beautiful hair that went down to nearly her waist.  She lost her hair after her first few treatments.

She is the most gracious, kind, loving and the most positive person I have ever known.    She has had a tough road to tow, she lost her husband when my dad, her youngest was just 1yr old.  She has 6 children, 4 girls and 2 boys.  She supported her family and never remarried.  She has lost two of her daughters to ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).  All of that would make me cranky, and probably a little bitter.  Instead she has faced life's challenges head on. 



With everything going on in the world combined with Grandma Birdie, I start to get a little discouraged and worried for my kids.  I can't imagine the things they will have to deal with and face not only as teenagers but even as adults.  A friend shared this talk from the last LDS general conference and I thought it was a great reminder of the things we can do when things are tough. 

http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/of-things-that-matter-most?lang=eng&cid=facebook-shared

This is one of my favorite parts:So What Are the Basics?


As we turn to our Heavenly Father and seek His wisdom regarding the things that matter most, we learn over and over again the importance of four key relationships: with our God, with our families, with our fellowman, and with ourselves. As we evaluate our own lives with a willing mind, we will see where we have drifted from the more excellent way. The eyes of our understanding will be opened, and we will recognize what needs to be done to purify our heart and refocus our life.

First, our relationship with God is most sacred and vital. We are His spirit children. He is our Father. He desires our happiness. As we seek Him, as we learn of His Son, Jesus Christ, as we open our hearts to the influence of the Holy Spirit, our lives become more stable and secure. We experience greater peace, joy, and fulfillment as we give our best to live according to God’s eternal plan and keep His commandments.

We improve our relationship with our Heavenly Father by learning of Him, by communing with Him, by repenting of our sins, and by actively following Jesus Christ, for “no man cometh unto the Father, but by [Christ].” 10 To strengthen our relationship with God, we need some meaningful time alone with Him. Quietly focusing on daily personal prayer and scripture study, always aiming to be worthy of a current temple recommend—these will be some wise investments of our time and efforts to draw closer to our Heavenly Father. Let us heed the invitation in Psalms: “Be still, and know that I am God.” 11

Our second key relationship is with our families. Since “no other success can compensate for failure” 12 here, we must place high priority on our families. We build deep and loving family relationships by doing simple things together, like family dinner and family home evening and by just having fun together. In family relationships love is really spelled t-i-m-e, time. Taking time for each other is the key for harmony at home. We talk with, rather than about, each other. We learn from each other, and we appreciate our differences as well as our commonalities. We establish a divine bond with each other as we approach God together through family prayer, gospel study, and Sunday worship.

The third key relationship we have is with our fellowman. We build this relationship one person at a time—by being sensitive to the needs of others, serving them, and giving of our time and talents. I was deeply impressed by one sister who was burdened with the challenges of age and illness but decided that although she couldn’t do much, she could listen. And so each week she watched for people who looked troubled or discouraged, and she spent time with them, listening. What a blessing she was in the lives of so many people.

The fourth key relationship is with ourselves. It may seem odd to think of having a relationship with ourselves, but we do. Some people can’t get along with themselves. They criticize and belittle themselves all day long until they begin to hate themselves. May I suggest that you reduce the rush and take a little extra time to get to know yourself better. Walk in nature, watch a sunrise, enjoy God’s creations, ponder the truths of the restored gospel, and find out what they mean for you personally. Learn to see yourself as Heavenly Father sees you—as His precious daughter or son with divine potential.