This week has given me the opportunity to show diligence and endurance. I have yet to find all the joy/blessings that have come, or will come from it but, I know they will be manifested to me when God needs me to be aware of them. This week is finishing up and I wanted to share a few of the things I have learned this week.

Let me first start by telling you about what our little family has been going through. On Friday(January 5th), Christian and I went into Insta Care to get seen about lingering cold symptoms. The diagnosis that came that day started the trials. Christian was told and treated for pneumonia. I was treated for a sinus infection. We spent most of Friday resting and trying to catch up. Little did we know, we needed more than a day to do this. (I should have known this…When I was in 8th grade I had pneumonia and it took me a good 6-9 months to completely heal from my pneumonia.) I think Christian has a little bit of a long road to get back to where he was, sadly. 

The good that came from this diagnosis was the time to rest. Christian hasn’t had this long of a break in the 8 years we have been married. I don’t recall a full day off without a lot of anxiety coming from it. Thank goodness he has been blessed with very little anxiety, and a lot of great rest to get him motivated to get back to work. He is on the mend and I know we will look back on this time of being sick, and see why it needed to happen. I can’t wait to find out and write more about that in the future.

Now, fast forward to Saturday(January 6th). Kezia decides to start fevering(like it was her choice, haha) about 4pm that day. Man…we have been dealing with sickness since the day James came home from Kindergarten with Covid on December 13th. He was so nice to share that with all of us, including Christian’s father. Covid for me, James, Kezia and Clara was pretty mild. We had about two days where we were uncomfortable and then we bounced back pretty well. Emma was lucky to never get a positive test, but sadly still had to stay home with us and not do much. Now, Christian on the other hand, was pretty sick for about four days. He slept for most of those days. Thankfully, the kids were all not feeling well, so he was able to rest.

We were blessed to feel pretty good for Christmas. Christian still was having some lingering headaches that got pretty painful, but that was about all we had. Then a couple days after New Years Christian and I started getting super congested and coughing a ton. I had a night where I didn’t sleep all night and I said to Christian, “I can’t do another night like that, I’m going to insta care, you should come with me.” Turns out he was worse off than me. So, they treated for pneumonia and a sinus infection. 

As I said before after we were diagnosed it just got “better”…. Kezia started fevering on the 6th and Emma the next day, followed by James the next day. I decided on Monday(January 8th) to take in Emma and Kezia to be seen by their pediatrician because by this point I’m just completely done with sickness and I want something to kill the germs. They decided to test Emma for Covid, RSV, Influenza, and Strep. Her’s came back positive for Influenza A. So, we began treating Emm and James  with an antibiotic that helps lessen the symptoms. Let’s just say, this last week was full of fevers, low energy kids, medicine, drinks of every kind(smoothies, slurpees, gatorade,apple juice,etc), lots of snuggles and shows(BLUEY, non stop! Thankfully I like Bluey so I wasn’t pulling my hair out too much).

The great news is we made it through. Finally, on Thursday, I called my mom and was so frustrated that the kids’ fevers wouldn’t go away. She prompted me to stop tylenol, and ibuprofen and just let their bodies fight it. That was the trick. They were fever free from that day on. I’m grateful to have a mom that listens to me and helps me through my trials. I’m also grateful for the Lord who comforted me and gave me the energy and patience to love and help my kids recover from their sicknesses. I shouldn’t have been able to do that with how sick I have been, but maybe I also needed to slow down and just take care of myself as well. The Lord’s timing is perfect, and I can see that now. 

The blessings that came from this last week was that we got another whole week together as a family with no interruptions(dance, school, activities, etc.). We were able to make memories, and learn to love and serve one another. The Lord allows us to get sick to strengthen us physically(so our bodies can fight off germs), and spiritually(so we slow down and remember the important things in this life). I was able to grow in both ways this week. The last blessing was that I was able to deep clean my home so that we could fight the germs physically in this way as well.

My trials this week were small compared to our Prophet’s, Joseph Smith’s, but the scripture and revelation he received in Liberty Jail still can apply to any one of us during a trial.

D&C121:7

My son, ^apeace be unto thy soul; thine ^badversity and thine afflictions shall be but a ^csmall moment; https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/121?lang=eng&id=p7#p7 

My adversities were a small moment and I pray I endured it well. The wonderful thing is that I know I can improve each time this happens, and I plan too. The next time my family and I get sick I will now be able to rely on the Lord a little harder and endure a little better. This is my testimony and I’m grateful for the opportunity I had to grow my testimony this week. 

I would love to hear from you all! Tell me of a trial you had this week. Tell me how you have seen the Lord’s hand in the trial and how you have grown. If you can’t see the Lord’s hand yet, just share with me your trials. Let me bear the burden with you. The Lord wants us to support one another in this way and I would love to do so. 

I hope this week brings growth and discomfort, but that you will rely on the Lord and wait and see what blessing the Lord has for you.