Good news and struggles

Dear family,

I love you all.  Today I have been dealing with two different people who have experienced the death of a family member.  One at work, and another in the ward.  It is hard, and makes me so grateful for each of you.  I am thankful for the plan of salvation that gives us ultimate hope.  I believe that we do not have to wait until the next life to realize this hope; we can have confidence in Jesus today, even when we struggle.

Much love,

Dad

Tuesday, February 9, 2021
9:40 pm

Julie had a doctor visit yesterday; everything is great.  Baby was moving around so much during the NST that it took a while to establish a baseline.  Love that.  Blood pressure and blood sugar are both doing okay.  Heartbeat was 143, perfect.  Very nice.  Looking at (tentatively) February 28 for an arrival date.

Sad news: yesterday we found out that my employee Sue Hunt's ex-husband had fallen and suffered a serious head injury. He passed away this morning.  The fall was a result of severe alcoholism.  What a terrible disease. 

On a similar vein, a member of my ward passed away today.  As EQP I had worked with him and his wife for a while to try to help them prepare to attend the temple.  Unfortunately, they weren't ready for the commitment yet, and they never made it to the temple.  I thought of them just the other day and felt like I should get in touch with them.  I regret not immediately reaching out.  How do I recognize when a thought is just a passing thought, when it is a gentle prompting, and when it is an urgent need?  I'm just not good at that yet.  

I need to go to sleep soon.  Tomorrow our debit card processor is migrating us to a different platform.  It is supposed to go smoothly, but we are nervous.

Thankful: I'm thankful that we had a good FHE tonight.  I taught a lesson on priesthood authority and used a variety of "licenses" that I printed and gave the kids.  We talked about the need for authority to permit certain actions to take place.  We also talked about Joseph and Oliver's revelatory experiences after they were baptized and received the priesthood.

Ministering: Grieving families.

More later…

Playing Mancala with Emma the other day.