I WAS SEARCHING 4 THE ENSIGN ARTICLE (ABOUT HYMNS, BY MY FRIEND, Jack Rushton) THAT INSPIRED MY ENSIGN ARTICLE. DISCOVERED THESE WORDS OF WISDOM, IN A 2ND ENSIGN ARTICLE HE HAD PARTICIPATED IN:

Everything can be taken away from you. But no one else can control your thoughts or attitudes. I often think of a quote I once heard: ‘Pain is inevitable, but misery is optional.’ Nothing can force us to be unhappy.”

THEN, AT CHURCH SUN., THERE WAS A COMENT THAT GAVE ME A THOUGHT 2 SHARE:

IN PRES. MONSON’S TALK, “Abundantly Blessed,” HE SAID, “To you who are parents, I say, show love to your children. You know you love them, but make certain they know it as well.” THIS IS SOMETHING WWE ALL CAN DO.

NOW-A-DAYS, I CAN SIGN “I LOVE U”—FEW OF THEIR FRIENDS KNOW THE SIGN’S MEANING, & IF THEY DO, THEY DON’T KNOW “JENNY-ESE,” SO THE KIDS CAN SILENTLY KNOW THAT I LOVE THEM, & R NOT EMBARRASSED BY MY SIGN OF AFFECTION.

BUT B4 MY STROKE, I

I DID THIS 2 MY OLDER 2 KIDS (DOUBT SOPHIA REMEMBERS, AS SHE WAS BARELY 2 YRS. OLD, WHEN I HAD MY STROKE): I COULD REACH OVER, GRAB A HAND, & SQUEEZE THEIR HAND, 2 SECRETLY SAY ” I LOVE U”, SO I DIDN’T EMBARRASS THEM IN PUBLIC.

RECENTLY, SOPHIA HAS BEEN QUESTIONING MY UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, & ASKS REPEATEDLY “WOULD U LOVE ME IF I _____.” SHE REALLY SEEMS 2 BE TESTING ME, AS SHE’S RECENTLY HAD A STRING OF CHOICES THAT WERE ROUGH. BUT, AFTER HEARING PRES. MONSON’S TALK IN APRIL 2008, (“Abundantly Blessed”), COMFORT WAS SPOKEN 2 MY SOUL:

WHILE IT HAS BEEN QUITE THE STRUGGLE 4 ME 2 ACCEPT THE IDEA 2 NOT BE YOUR “TRADITIONAL” MOM, I COULD STAND PROUD AS A MOM, BECAUSE THE KIDS KNOW I LOVE THEM, & EVER SINCE I COULD SIGN “I LOVE U”, THERE ISN’T A DAY THAT I DON’T SAY IT, SINCE THERE’S NO GAURANTEE I CAN SAY IT TOMMORROW.

SPEAKING OF TOMMORROW , OUR PERCEPTION OF THE FUTURE IS A DAY, A WEEK, A MONTH, OR EVEN 20 YRS. DOWN THE ROAD. I BELIEVE THE LORD’S PERCEPTION OF THE FUTURE IS ETERNAL. SO WHEN THINGS R TOUGH, OR NOT AS WE EXPECT IT 2 BE, INSTEAD OF WONDERING, “WHY ME?”, WE SHOULD ENDURE, LEARN & GROW FROM THE HARDSHIP, & SEARCH 4 THE GOOD IN IT. U MAY NOT C THE BLESSINGS UNTIL LATER, BUT THE LORD KNEW WHEN U WERE GIVEN THE HARDSHIP. HE KNOWS WHO U ARE, & WHO U ARE TRYING 2 BECOME, & PLACES THOSE HARDSHIPS THERE, 2 GIVE US THE CHANCE 2 BECOME WHO WE SHOULD BE…

AS MY FRIEND, Jack Rushton SAID, “The Lord knows why, even though we don’t.”