Tender Mercies

Sunday is my birthday. I love my birthday, well except for the year I turned 30. I didn't really enjoy that one! I am not one to command lots of presents, just usually a dinner out is perfect. Last year I had a special birthday present from my Gram, and this year I have gotten one just as special. It has made me feel loved, happy, and fulfilled. This year it has come from the Lord.
The path my life has taken to get to the Gospel has been bumpy. I was baptized when I was 12 after attending church with one of my oldest friends and her family. This family was the first example of service to the Lord I have received. They had 4 children of their own to worry about getting to church on time, yet would drive the opposite direction from the ward building to come and pick me up. They laid the foundation for the Gospel to be in my home as an adult. My family wasn't exactly supportive of me attending church, and I found that if I stopped going to church I had less chores on Sunday when I got home. At age 13 I stopped attending.
Fast forward to 1998, Ken and I decided to have our oldest daughter blessed. It was at that sacrament meeting I met my new visiting teachers, who became some of my closest friends.
I started attending church on and off, taking Madi with me and sitting with one of my visiting teachers. Then the sister missionaries started coming over and that is when our life really started to move in the direction toward the Gospel and the joy that we now have everyday. These sisters brought the Spirit into our home, taught eternal truths, and helped to put us on the path to having an eternal family. Ken was bapitized 2 1/2 years after these special sisters came into our lives and on July 6, 2002 our family was sealed for time and all eternity in the St. Louis Missouri Temple. All this was possible through the willingness of others to give service to the Lord. An entire family, 2 busy moms, and special sister missionaries who gave 18 months of their life to teach others the Gospel are all examples of charity.
So, for my birthday this year the Lord has given me almost all of our special sisters who we had lost contact with back to me. In the past few months and especially the past week, I have been able to talk to most of them. I have been able to see how their lives have gone, see the sweet families they have and the road they have traveled since they took off their missionary nametags. This gift is priceless to me, as well as the Gospel of Jesus Christ that all these people helped to bring to my family's life.
I know The Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know that the first vision did happen, it is true. I know Jesus Christ came to the earth, and as a free gift to mankind, atoned for everyone's sins. I know thru His sacrifice we can return to live with our Heavenly Father again, and be re-united to loved ones that have passed before us. The plan of salvation is a merciful plan provided to help us find joy in this life and the next, and I would not be able to find peace in this world without it. The Gospel is the foundation of my life now, the way of living that brings peace and harmony to my home. I am eternally grateful for all the people that touched our lives and gave of themselves to bring my family to the Lord. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church on the earth today, it is lead by a prophet who guides and directs us and I am so blessed to have it in my life.