I am thankful...

I just got off of the phone with my parents.  I always call around 9:30 or 10:00 every night just to say goodnight.  Usually it is a very fun phone call where we are able to re-cap our day together and let each other know how much we love each other.  Maybe it sounds kind of cheesy, but it has been my routine ever since I moved up to Logan my freshman year and it is a tradition I want to keep.  I love being so close to my parents!  Well, tonight when I called, my parents shared some news with me.  They told me that my cousin, Ashleigh, got in a bad car accident today.  I was a little in denial.  I always hear about those things happening to others but I never really think they will happen to someone that I am close to.  Ashleigh is one of those people that I just love and wouldn't want anything bad to happen to.  She is married and is the mother of three young children.  She is always on the go...doing things to help and serve others.  She is a joy to be around because she is always kind and happy.  She is also very caring.  Even though she is a number of years older than me, I know her so well.  She has always been someone I look up to.  She has been a wonderful cousin and a true friend.  Today Ashleigh was driving from her home in Lehi to Salt Lake.  I don't really know the specifics of what happened but from what I understand, the truck in front of her was pulling a trailer full of equipment and tools.  Ashleigh noticed that the ladder was starting to slide off of the trailer towards her and started to swerve when the driver of the truck noticed the ladder and slammed on the brakes.  Because he stopped so quickly, everything from his trailer flew towards her car.  She now has a shattered pelvis, broken ribs, and a few broken wings on her vertebrae.  Thankfully, she did not have and of her kids with her because the back seat of her minivan was cut in half.  The doctors don't suspect that she will be able to walk again for at least four months.  Yeah, I can say this is devastating to me, but I can't even imagine what it must be like for her kids and her husband and her parents and immediate family.  I wish I could do something for her...anything!  That is why I am thankful for prayer, and that I can at least ask Heavenly Father to bless her and those around her in the way they need it most.  This whole experience has made me reflect on the way she has blessed my life.  A few weeks ago I received this e-mail from her.  This will show you just what kind of person she is:

Hey there Lauren,
 
Now that I have your e-mail address and I'm typing, I'm not totally sure what what I was going to say, but I wanted to say Hi and tell you I was thinking about you.  I heard things haven't been too terribly great lately and you're learning that you might have Lupus.  Over the last couple of years I've realized how very grateful I am that so far in life I haven't been physically unable to to pursue and acheive all the things in life I'm always trying to fit in.  Well, besides sleeping . .  sometimes I wish I could have that 7 hours  back.  Anyway, I know that you're always busy doing something plus you're in school and that alone is a lot, and I imagine it's tough.  Tough not feeling well, but even tougher just knowing you can't do and you really want to do.  
 
Anyway, I don't have much by way of inspiring or uplifting, but I am thinking about you and sometimes I've found that knowing that is enough some days.  Luckily you have an amazing family, an amazing attitude and you have your testimony.  
 
Have a good weekend.   
 
Love always, 

Ashleigh

I can truly say that she is someone who follows promptings of the Spirit because this little e-mail came at just the right time.  I hope and pray that she will be blessed at this time, along with her family.

This is a picture of Ashleigh with her husband, Ansen, and her two little girls, Adison and Olivia.  It is a bit of an older picture (their little boy Drew was not born yet) but it was the only one I could quickly find.  Such a cute family!

I have been thinking a lot lately about promptings.  I have felt like I have been really guided or prompted to do certain things at certain times and yet I don't see any results, or I don't see the results I would expect to see.  Yes, I don't always understand His plan.  Anyway, last night I was really praying about something I have been struggling with lately.  Sometimes I get so focused on one person and I really invest myself in their life and situation.  I have a desire to help in anyway I can.  I have been trying to follow promptings in "helping" this person, but I still feel as though I am failing.  I was pleading with the Lord last night to help me to focus more on the many other people and kind of forget about the one.  Suddenly, a thought came to my head.  The Savior always focuses on the one.  He left the ninety and nine to find the one.  He never gives up on any of us.  He has never given up on me.  I hope to never give up on anyone else.  I am so thankful for all of those in my life who continually come to my rescue and never give up on me as they follow the example of the Savior.  I am thankful for people, like Ashleigh, who follow small promptings to do simple things, like sending an e-mail, that let others know of God's love.  With all of these thoughts and recent happenings, I have a new and determined desire to follow through with promptings, to "Never suppress a generous thought."  Hopefully I will sometime, somehow, in some small way, be able to let someone else know that I love them and, more importantly, that Heavenly Father loves them.