Then I met my husband Jon. Jon had a unique childhood in that he lived near Nauvoo, Illinois, where the early pioneers left and went westward because of religious persecution. He later lived in Wyoming, near the pioneer hand-cart sites, where two companies of hand-cart pioneers were stranded in extremely horrible winter conditions while they waited for help to come from Salt Lake in 1856. His is another story in and of itself, maybe to be told in another post. As we met and married, and related our histories to each other, it came to our knowledge that one of my ancestors helped in the rescue of these handcart pioneers (who one of my sons is named after), while Jon himself helped build some of the memorials at these rescue sites in Wyoming. We both, as a result, have developed a real love of the people who lived and died in coming to the Salt Lake Valley to escape religious persecution, and be able to practice what they believed in faith and freedom.
To that end, we have both done much reading, study, and actual visiting to the places of these early pioneers, who sacrificed so much. The rescue of the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies both hold very dear places in our hearts in particular.
For Father's Day, Jon's parents gave him a DVD of the movie, "17 Miracles", which we never were able to sit down and watch until July 24th, Pioneer Day. As we talked with our kids about why Utah celebrates this holiday, it dawned on us both that we had not watched it yet, so we put the kids to bed and had our own movie night. It basically tells the story of these two companies, but focuses more on 17 of the many miracles that happened during this trek. As I watched, I was able to juxtapose these same miracles against those that have happened in my own life. I won't go through each one, but I will share one of two that have helped me see the hand of God in our own lives.
One of the miracles speaks of an abused woman and her children attempting to flee from England. They had joined the LDS church there, and were determined to cross the ocean and the US plains to get to the Salt Lake Valley in 1856. Her husband had beaten her, and was threatening to kill her if she ever left him. She and her two children escaped early one morning and were able to get on a train that would take them to an ocean liner to the US. Her husband awoke, realized they were gone, and then followed them to the train station. He got on the train, actually met his wife face to face, but through the power of the Holy Ghost, did not recognize her, and moved on. She and her children made it safely to the ship to begin their journey. We see the miracle of protection from harm and danger here.
Some may say this is impossible, but I know it is not. One of the reasons we are given the Holy Ghost is for protection. When it is part of the Lord's will, He will send us that protection, as well as warnings from danger, as long as we are prepared and receptive. In my own life, I have felt this on more than one occasion. When my oldest child, Rebecca, was just a little toddler, I remember taking her to a mall in Salt Lake. When we were done shopping, I was walking her in her stroller out to the car. We were parked in a semi-crowded spot, a little ways from the entrance. A little obscure, but not too much. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw this man walking toward us. I really didn't think too much of it, and continued walking, as we were pretty close to the car by now. All of a sudden, I had this feeling to hurry. I stepped up my walking a notch and got to the car. Again, I had this uneasy feeling and felt like I needed to hurry. Now, getting a child into a car is a major pain. Between the unstrapping of the belts in the stroller, to getting her into her car seat, strapping her three belts in that seat, folding up the stroller and getting it into the trunk -- this takes a few minutes! Out of the corner of my eye, I could see this guy making a bee line right towards me. I got everything in the car in record time, jumped in, locked the doors, and sped off right as this guy came right up to the car. Now, I don't know what would've happened had I not been listening to the Spirit. Maybe he was not a threat at all, but the feeling I had was one of warning, so I listened. A miracle? Yes!
Another miracle on the trek that was mentioned was of this mother who had been pushing and pulling her handcart along the trail and had hit her ceiling. She sat down on a rock, told her family to go on and leave her because she was done. She sat down, and prepared herself to die. She was exhausted, starving and had nothing left to give. Her family went on, minus a teenage daughter who had stayed behind with her mom so she wouldn't be left alone. Her husband decided he would take the rest of the family to the place they would settle for the night, and then come back and get her. Her daughter was touched by the Holy Ghost and felt the need to pray for a specific need, knowing her faith would help them both continue on. A few minutes after her prayer, she noticed something in the pathway. There was a steaming hot, freshly baked pie. She and her mother laughed at the sight, thanked the Lord for this miracle, and ate heartily. With this miracle, the mother was able to keep going all the way to Salt Lake, and when she felt like giving up, this always came back to her mind and helped sustain her faith and her strength.
Again, some have laughed this off calling it impossible. And why a pie? Personally, I think this is exactly what she needed. Something so ridiculous and tasty that would get her to laugh, see a bit of humour, and keep going. I do not find this strange at all. The Lord knows us so personally, and He knows what we will react to. Again, I have seen this miracle in my own life.
My now 3 year-old Willliam was born with 3 serious heart defects, none of which were known until about 12 hours after I had given birth. When they noticed that half of his little newborn body kept turning blue, the nurses and doctors rushed him to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City, and let us know he needed open-heart surgery when he was just 4 days old. I think Jon and I were both in shock for the first couple of days. I remember sitting in a little room with the heart surgeon, listening to him explain in great detail would they would do, and every possible thing that could go wrong. I remember feeling very calm and peaceful, yet very overwhelmed. I, myself, was checked out of the hospital early just so I could be there with my little tiny baby. The day of the surgery arrived, and we were told it would take around 6 hours to perform. I remember being in the waiting room with our family members, and many other families waiting under similar circumstances. You could cut the tension with a knife. I never felt like the woman mentioned above, where I was ready to give up and die, but I could better understand her feelings at that point. I was pretty close to my breaking point.
The Lord provided me and Jon some angels, however. He knew what we needed at that point, and that was humour. My sister was one of the family members in the waiting room with us, and I remember the three of us cracking jokes, telling funny stories, and LAUGHING. Many were looking at us like we were crazy. And we were! But, we needed humour at that point in order to keep going. In the 10 days following, through his recovery, we were also provided with a nurse that would do the same thing for us. Keep us laughing and helping us see the grand scope of things. He provides us with what we need, when we need it. A miracle? Yes!
There are many other miracles mentioned in this movie, as well as others that are not, but that I have read about. Even though these pioneers suffered horribly through these experiences, I also know that this was their refiner's fire -- what purified them in order to be like and live with, God again. Each one of us will have go through trials that will be individually suited for us, ones which will refine us, as well. As hard as they are to go through, however, miracles will be provided to us to help us along the way. All we have to do is keep ourselves in positions where we can feel the promptings of the Holy Ghost, and then recognize the miracles when they happen. And they will.
Through the years, I have read articles by critics who discredit these miracles, as well as so many others. I know there will always be those that do. But, I have seen mircles happen in my own life, and I know they happen for all. Some may call it coincidence, but I know better. As we see the world turning away more and more from God, I can see miracles occurring more frequently in my own life. I hope you can, as well.
