Testimony, family meeting and singing

These are a little late in posting but I wanted to have it in my records...



9/5 The weekend after my sister was diagnosed with cancer (she was still in the hospital after her masectomy), it was fast and testimony meeting. I had the feeling to go and bear my testimony but not in my own ward but in hers. A little wierd, except that I know many people in her ward (DeLayne seems to invite me to all of her ward functions!) Her ward has been unbelievable. I have never seen anything like it. Sometimes a little bit overboard but they really have taken upon them their baptismal covenant where it states "comfort those in need of comfort". Because the ward took care of the meals and babysitting and housework, the family was able to help DeLayne. How important it was for us to be with her and not have other things on top of that to worry about. It is a blessing to be apart of a church that serves one another. DeLayne could not believe the outpouring of love and generosity. It was overwhelming but it was a tribute to how much of an influence she is to others and how loved she is by many. It is hard to be on the receiving side rather than the serving side.
After my meeting, I went to DeLaynes' ward and bore a simple testimony of the trust we need to have in the Lord. And of the gratitude we had as a family for the charity and Christ-like attibutes they showed to her and her family. I also bore my testimony that miracles have not seized on the earth. And that hopefully we can all learn from these hard and trying times.



9/6 We had a meeting with my family. We wanted to discuss what we can do to help DeLayne and help each other. Very emotional meeting. We all shared our thoughts and feelings and how important it is to stay close to the Lord. My dad mentioned that if it depended on our own faith, individually, to cure DeLayne what would we change in our life. It makes you think. If we really had that much power, what would we change?



9/26 My sister, Audralyn, came to be with DeLayne for 5 days. She lives in Texas and has had to deal with this alone so she decided to come to help and be with family. I love my sister Audralyn! I wish she lived closer. DeLayne decided (last minute, of course) that she wanted all of us to sing in her ward since all the sisters were together. I hate singing especially in someone else's ward. I'm sure they have great talent in their own ward, they don't need the Bluth sisters to invade their ward. Needless to say, we sang the most beautiful song Abide with me, Tis Eventide. During rehearsal, DeLayne told us that this is the song she would sing during those long, sleepless night. Of course, it was not a smart thing to tell us because now the song has emotion tied to it. We were all nervous to sing it without crying. We did make it through it (partly because we got it all out when my dad came over during rehearsal and told us to relax, smile more, and said "it sounded absolutely beautiful"). It was beautiful. A wonderful experience to share with my mom and sisters.