Reflection

How time changes things...
On Sunday our family met with our good bishop for tithing settlement. Mark is our ward's financial clerk, so he was already at the church when we got there. He had been going through old documents and shredding them. When I walked in, he handed me some papers and said, "Take a look at that."

I assumed these were our statements from 2008 and that I should review them before meeting with the bishop. They were actually our statements from 2005. When I looked at the total contributions for the year, I could hardly believe the amount; this was during a time where we as a family were struggling to stay afloat. Mark had lost his job of 10 years, and we were basically starting over. I often wondered how we were going to make it and take care of our growing family. I had to put some of my pride aside and let others help us. Where are we now?

I know you don't need all the details, some I would rather forget about anyway. But since that time, Mark has not only received a bachelor's degree, he's also graduated with a Master's degree. He has a great job working full time as a civil engineer, and I actually have a part time job using some of the skills I went to school for. I work as a contractor updating and editing web pages for OSHA.

I sometimes wonder why our Heavenly Father blesses our family so much. There is so much more we could be doing better in our lives, yet, as the loving Father He is, he sees fit to bless us and help us along this journey we call life.