And there is joy!

So I heard something that made me think yesterday. One of my favorite ladies from church was speaking to our young women and said "After all the trials of life there is joy." She was commenting on how we look back and feel gratitude in our hearts and live our life with more purpose.

I had experiences that led to this same thought on both Monday and Tuesday. I took Bryson into his burn clinic appointment on Monday and Braxton had to tag along. We needed to walk around the hospital to find the OT's office. On our way Braxton saw a patient being transported on their bed to some procedure room. Braxton said, "When our daddy was in the hospital he didn't have to be pushed around." I quickly replied that he definitely did. Braxton came once on Valentine's day and saw dad happy lying in bed. He didn't know about the countless tests the doctors ran. I thought "how lucky we are to have him better."

Then on Tuesday we took Bryson in for ear surgery. The outpatient surgery center was directly across from St. Joe's. We pulled in to familiar territory. I looked at the hospital's entrance and recalled carrying everything from home through those doors, bags and bags. One of Lee's doctors saw me in the elevator once and asked if I was moving in. As we were leaving Lee said out loud, "Ah... St Joe's... my second home." I think we both remembered it the same way and were happy to be headed to our truck!

"After all the trials of life there is joy" and I know the source of my joy. I have been blessed by such a loving Heavenly Father. During this same young women's class I remembered a talk I had heard a missionary give once. He shared something he learned about God's love from his father.

This missionary had a kindergarten brother who walked a long and dusty trail home from school. He would come in with neat things everyday: pottery, arrowheads, and one of a kind rocks. The missionary wondered how this happened. He searched the same trails and never really found anything that special. One day he was out on a horse ride with his dad. He saw his dad slip something in his pocket and later he got off of his horse. The missionary watched as his father pulled the shiny rock out and placed it on the trail. He knew that his father put something in that boy's path everyday to bring him joy. Our Heavenly Father does the same. We are blessed when we look for that joy.