it hurts to see friends hurt

Yesterday (9/22) was one of my best friend's birthday. I actually met *A* and *L* in summer 1996 when I was living in SLC doing an internship. I lost touch with both of them for awhile...when Steven started working at Sorenson full-time, *A* was his supervisor and we have since become best friends.

Yesterday was not the best day for *L*. Two months ago, she was hit head on by a drunk driver. Thirty hours later, her husband was rear ended. Last Thursday he had hip surgery to fix some problems that apparently had been aggravated by the accident. So they have both had some serious challenges lately.

I knew that *A* would not be in any shape to do anything for *L*. And I was sure that that was really hard for him. So last week I contacted the other ladies in the "group of 5" that we socialize with, proposing the idea of a surprise party for *L*. Then I contacted *A* to work out the details. As it turned out, yesterday was not a good day for *L*. She was experiencing a lot of back pain, so we moved the party to *A* and *L*'s house so she wouldn't have to travel. 4 of our 5 were there--#5 just had a baby so we didn't expect her to come. We had a great time, just the 4 of us, with two new babies, laughing and talking and eating.

After the other ladies left, I stayed for awhile to chat with *A* and *L*. We talked about lots and lots of different things.

*A* started a blog to chronicle their family's challenges. See it here. I had known a lot about what was going on--I have spent many hours over at their house, just trying to find ways to help them get through all this. But I hadn't really realized how bad it was.

It hurts to see your friends hurt. For whatever reason. Another friend of ours, *MM*, was in a terrible car accident nearly 3 years ago. To this day, he is still undergoing various surgeries to fix his legs. In fact, he is scheduled for a major knee operation sometime in the next 6 weeks. Although we were living in Orem at the time this happened, the news reverberated throughout the Utah Deaf Community. I have seen friends struggle with infertility, with the death of a child, with employment, with finances, as well as health issues. And it's never easy. There's so much you want to do for them but you also know you can only do so much.

At times like this, what really helps is to remember the Lord's promise in 1 Cor. 10:13 that the Lord will not allow us to be tested more than we are able to bear. Although it seems at times that our idea of what we can bear and what the Lord knows we can bear are two very different things, still, the fact that we are going through what seems to be a terrible trial, and somewhat surviving, is testament to the strength of the human spirit.

I also find the Lord's response to Joseph Smith's pleading (when he was incarcerated in Liberty Jail) inspiring:

"My son [and I might add, my daughter], peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes." (D&C 121: 7-8)

It felt good to do something for *L* to make her birthday a good one. I hope my eyes and heart will always be open to noticing when others need help (even if they don't ask for it) and to be able to give it.

wow, long time

It's been awhile since I've blogged here! I have been busy with keeping up with school, canning and other family stuff. Hope to post more often now!