Monday, March 10, 2014

Answer to prayer

I worked last night and it was a good shift. Nothing too crazy, just steady busy most of the night. The highlight was this morning, after shift change I stood in the hallway outside a pt's room and chatted with my friend, Colleen, who is an HCA (CNA). We've become good friends, and she has a LOT on her plate. I really REALLY wanted to share the Gospel with her, but learned a few weeks ago she is LDS, but has taken her name off the Church records. I was sad to hear that, but happy to hear that she used to be a member. Since then I've been praying and even fasted on Sunday (part of my fast) to have an opportunity to help her want to come back to church. She needs the blessings of living the Gospel so badly in her life.
So today we chatted for probably a good 15 to 20 min between shift s. She was coming on and I was going off, and it was a great conversation. She was able to vent to me, talked about a lot of the same things I've heard her talk about, but she is very justified in needing to re-hash it. She has been dealt a hard hand. Her ex-not husband, but "ex," as she calls him, has kidnapped their four-year-old a few months ago, and won't bring her back. They have joint custody, and it's a really complicated situation why she can't just take him to court, etc. It's expensive, and though she'd probably win, he has threatened to hurt her if she ever took him to court. So she lives in fear and worry for her little girl, knows they're probably in CA, but doesn't really know for sure, and just has to keep living her life. She also has two teenage girls and is remarried to a good man. But this "ex" has just made her life kind of a living hell, including driving her to bankruptcy.
Anyway, she is such a good person and needs these blessings, and we have developed a good relationship.
So yesterday was my fast and I think about her and pray about her all the time, and today toward the end of our conversation it turned naturally to the church, she said she didn't know if I was LDS, but.. and I definitely clarified that I was, and eventually I was able to ask her (and this is what I was hoping to be able to ask her, to get a feel for how she felt about the Church now) if she'd ever considered going back to church at all. She surprisingly said yes, she'd considered it a ton of times, but says she just can't do it. Or couldn't do it, or something. Anyway, I was so happy to hear that because I feel like she is open to feeling comfort from the Gospel, open to possibly going back, if she had a little more encouragment and support.
So that is the open door I have been hoping and praying for. So my plan is to email her (we rarely actually work together these days, mostly just see each other in passing, ha) with my testimony and maybe a talk to read, or some scriptures I feel like will help her, etc. So we'll see. But I'm so grateful for the chance we had to chat today, and for where the conversation went and how it went. And I know that it was completely because of Heavenly Father. It was all Him, I know it. Because that's what I've been praying for. And I'm so grateful for His hand in that happening today.

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