Advice

When you have trials, or tragedies in your life, people like to offer advice. Sometimes you want it, other times you don't, and other times you don't want it but realize that it's great advice anyway. During the past couple of weeks, we've gotten a lot of advice from people. Always with love, and no ill-meaning, and we really appreciate that people are trying to offer comfort in their own way. Sometimes it's hard to swallow what's being given because the pain is too fresh, but we still appreciate the thought.

And then there are other times when someone says something that really makes us stop, and think about what's happened in a whole new light.

One thing said to me during all of this was about the principle of restoration. That nothing shall be lost and everything restored in His own due time. Whether this means I get to raise my baby in the Millennium, or the baby gets another chance to come to our family at another time, I don't know. No one knows. But nothing, and NO ONE, is lost. That was a great comfort to me.

Another thing that was said to me and Brian is that the Lord's timing is perfect. The Lord knows when each of us needed to come down here, meaning He knew what grade we were going to be in at what time, and who our friends needed to be, and where we needed to be in life to handle certain situations. He knows EVERYTHING! Obviously. But His timing is perfect and it's not up to us to question why things happen the way they do. He does everything in our best interest, not to hurt us.

That really made us stop and think. This may be hard, but the Lord has given it to us at this time for a reason. Any earlier or later could have resulted in a different outcome for us and our relationship. I think that this trial has made us even closer than before. I didn't think that was possible because I think we've had a really good relationship, but recently, I just feel closer to Brian. I find myself just staring at him, so thankful that I have him in my life and that he's been so great through all of this.
He's continually worrying about me and trying to help me in whatever way possible, even though I'm basically completely (physically) healed. He just knows me so well that he can sense when the smiles are real or when they're just holding back the tears.

Another thought then comes up. Were we wrong in choosing this time to start a family? I don't think so. We both felt very strongly that this was the right time. As mentioned in a previous post, I think we needed to show our faith in starting a family right now, when things weren't quite perfect. I know that because we followed those promptings, we've received a greater amount of comfort through all of this.

One last thought, mostly because I need it written down someplace so that I remember it. Through all of this, Brian keeps telling me how strong I am. I know it's not advice, but it's one of the things he says to comfort me. And I think I need to keep hearing it from him. It reminds me of a principle I've always known throughout my life. The Lord will not give us anything we cannot handle. He does not give us trials because he's trying to get us to fail. He gives us trials that we CAN endure, if only we turn to Him. I need to keep remembering that when those tough moments come.

But I still have those moments when I reply, "But I wish I weren't this strong. Then I wouldn't have to face this trial." And that's the moment when Brian just wraps me up in his arms and lets me cry it out, until I can be strong enough to face it again.