NEGLECTING
my blog big time I would post it here for all to read.
My Visiting Teaching story,
As a young mother, married just over 2 years, I had could count on one hand how many visits I received from my Visiting Teachers . Or for that matter, how many times I went Visiting Teaching, it didn’t seem very important. You know, the Lord knows how to teach you by example and will usually challenge your unbelief with a loving hand. Mine came from an older lady who was faithful in her Visiting Teaching.
My Husband and I had just purchased our first home and were members of an extremely large ward in Mesa Az. The past six months were some of the hardest any parent could go through, our baby daughter, Brenn, was diagnosed with cancer and had to be treated in San Francisco Ca. On top of that stress I was expecting my 2nd baby and was worried about the timing. You see, my daughter had a check up, her first since undergoing treatment, in San Francisco Ca. and I was due to deliver my baby about the same time. I knew the airlines would not let me fly and was not dumb enough to try to drive all of that way 9 months pregnant. But I felt really strongly, too strongly, that I had to be there for whatever news the doctors were going to give us. So I consulted with my OBgyn and we decided to induce labor about 1 ½ weeks early, I would have 10 days to be up and around before flying to San Francisco and leaving my newborn with my lovely Mother in Law Kathy. All went fine in the delivery, Dallin was born and he was long and skinny (just like he is now). But within a few minutes the nurses swept him off of my tummy and left the room. They told us he was not doing very well and needed some attention. He ended up in the NICU with under developed lungs and was not oxygenating his blood enough. The situation was very grave. The doctor let Ken and his Dad administer to our small son but he did not seem to improve.
Brenn had developed a cold and so she stayed with Kathy and Ed to keep Ken and I germ free for the NICU. I could not drive due to just having given birth, so I had to wait for rides to the hospital to visit my baby. We were not allowed to touch him or make any noise around him, pretty much all I could do was sit there and quietly cry. It seemed useless to be there but yet awful to be home alone too. At this point Dallin was 2 days old, I was home on my knees pleading with my Heavenly Father to keep my son on this earth, to give us a good report on my daughter and to help comfort me. Unfortunately, I was unable to feel the comforting influence of the Spirit and was inconsolable.
My phone rang. On the other end was a voice introducing herself as Kathy Williams, she was my visiting teacher and she apologize for it taking so long to contact me. She asked me how I was doing.
I lied.
She asked me how many children I had.
2, - I was thinking ‘for now’
Then she asked me how my day was going. I told her she probably didn’t want to know the answer to that question. And she told me,
“Of course I do!”
That opened the flood gates. I told her the whole story and figured she would stammer a few things and ask for a new person. But she was wonderful. She told me it sounded like I needed dinner brought in and a big hug. She was right. Just knowing she was there was a big boost. I still to this day, almost 19 years later, refer that day to the worst day of my life. The day I lost all hope.
My Heavenly Father knew my troubles and heard my prayers and knew exactly who I needed. I needed a Visiting Teacher.
*a Visiting Teacher explained:
In the LDS church the Relief Society (RS) is all of the women (or sisters) of your ward approx 18 and over. In the RS each sister is visited every month by 2 other sisters - these pairings are companions and they are assigned 2-3 sisters to visit each month. Almost all sisters are called to be Visiting Teachers. The Coordinator is the sister who keeps track!
1 comment:
That's one of the best visiting teaching stories I've ever heard.
And I've heard some good ones, too.
Thanks for sharing it.
=)
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