Bread

Moving here has been hard, but I think it has been hardest on the little boys.  They have been sick off and on since we moved, and both have been to the ER.  I just got home with Aramis, and hopefully, he will start feeling better soon.

Thankfully, I was able to call our Bishop, who had so kindly offered to come and babysit in the middle of the night if we ever needed to go to the ER.  I had hoped to never have to take him up on his offer, but I am so glad he was available when I needed him.  Who is it that said every member needs a friend?  Well, I don't have just one, I have many.

A few Sundays ago, we had a lesson, on listening to the guidance of the Spirit, and I remember this story.  A woman who was dealing with a lot of very stressful problems in her life, began to suffer physically from all the strain.  It became very difficult for her to eat and keep anything down.  She started to lose weight.  Many of her friends and family tried to help her, and one day, one of her friends asked if anything sounded good to her.  The only thing she could think of was fresh baked bread, but there wasn't any available.  The next day, there was a knock on the door.  One of the sisters from the ward, whom she barely knew, was standing there with a loaf of bread she had just baked.  She didn't know why, but she felt the need to make two loafs instead of one, and bring it to this sister.

This Sunday, I stayed home because both the boys have been sick.  But, in the afternoon, there was a knock on my door.  And it was the Bishop's daughter, she was returning a plate we had given them a few weeks ago.  And in her hand was a loaf of bread.

It made me think, as I devoured a tasty piece, what my "bread" was.  What I needed.  And I realized, it was to know people cared.  I have gone through my life, often thinking no one cares about me, or what I think, or what I need.  I've kinda just been a loner in a lot of things.  But since moving here, I have been bombarded by the kindness and selflessness of people I hardly know.  People who are willing to drop everything at a moment's notice to come and help me, to watch my kids.  Who come over just to visit with me.  And people who will randomly come to my door just to bring me a bag of apples they had picked.    

That's my "bread".  To know I have so many people, family, here in Iowa I can rely on if I ever need anything.  Who are there for me.  I have never felt so humbled and grateful in my life.  I understand the meaning of Zion now better than I ever had before.