Sunshine In My Soul Today

It is raining outside today and the pot of rain drenched cyclamens you see above is what I am seeing as I look out my office window. They are so beautiful and I love having red and white ones on our porch right now.


Lately I have been feeling sun-starved after a very long, rainy winter last year. We have seen lots of sun this month and we have tried to soak up as much as we possibly could. But today I am loving this refreshing rain.

As we sat in church I noticed our friend, Faye, sitting a few rows in front of us wearing a lovely lime green tailored jacket. It was the exact color of the new grasses popping all over the hills that surround our little town. She stood out as a beacon of hope that spring is on its way, in a sea of darker colors, the blacks, browns and grays of winter. When we went outside, everywhere I looked was clothed in that same happy color. I even saw the first tulip tree in bloom for the season today. These things seems to come to forefront for me more and more the older I get. I am so grateful for the beauties that surround us at every turn. I am thankful for the time to truly appreciate them like I have never had, or perhaps taken, like this before.

What fills my heart with sunshine to the bursting point today is this beautiful youngest daughter we have been blessed with for the past 33 years today. Happy Birthday, Laura! I think we should have named you Laura Jo, and then added a Y after the JO.

My blood runs cold every year on this day when I think how hard the doctors leaned on us to terminate my pregnancy due to complications from me getting the chicken pox in my first trimester. I have never been so thankful for saying NO to that, never been so thankful for making the right choice. Never been so thankful for being able to hear the spirit whisper to us to trust in God and go forward in faith, no matter the outcome. That sweet confirmation that we made the right choice came instantly and I will never forget it, or deny it. The trial of our faith has been rewarded everyday since by a daughter that has been nothing but a blessing and pure joy every day of her life. It is so nice to know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that kind of life and death choice is not our stewardship, it is God's. You can read more about Laura's story here.

And look how that one great decision has multiplied our joy immeasurably since then! Realizing that all these blessing come from a Father In Heaven that is aware of us, what we need, what we desire is a blessing I can never take for granted, a gift I can never forget.

So I kind of feel that Laura's birthday, is more than a traditional birthday for me. It is a time for me to remember, and reflect and praise God for His help during that time I was carrying her. It is my time to remember the wonderful new people I had met that were Latter-day Saints and so compassionate and loving. They were the epitome of Christ's love in our life serving and teaching through their examples. When I think of Laura, the circumstances of her birth, the life she lives, the love she has given ~ I am overwhelmed and happy and grateful and there is sunshine in my soul today.

The saints could have come into our lives at any time but that was the perfect time, the best time, the Lord's time. And through all of life's ups and downs since then they have been by our sides. Lifting us high and proving that "by their fruits ye shall know them!" So that is what my thoughts are today as I think of our beautiful daughter, who has become one of the most amazing Christian women I have ever known.

So Happy Birthday, Laura Lou! Your family all wishes we could be with you celebrating in person today. We'd all gather round and sing and eat cake. Red Velvet cake because it is your color and you look amazing in it. It is indicative of your strength, your passion, your valiant way of life. Dad and I and Jen and Christopher all love this day because we received the best gift we could have imagined. The gift that keeps on giving. And, we get to keep that gift forever! Who could ask for anything more?

We love you Laura Lou!