When is it okay to just live with things as they are, even if you're miserable, and when is it better to say, Enough!? This is something I've been thinking about a lot lately. About three weeks ago I had a medical procedure done, and they found a few interesting things. Nothing earth shattering, but the quality of my life just improved, and I'm wishing I wouldn't have just "lived with it" for so many years. When I told one doctor what the problem was, and he couldn't find anything, then I just accepted that this is my new normal. I learned to cope and adapt and live with it, even though I didn't like it. I didn't know what else to do. Then this year I went to another doctor, told her about my issue, and she decided to dig deeper. And lo and behold, problem found, solved, and life is better. I'm sure glad I asked again and didn't just keep living with it.
Well, my son has been going through something similar only he's been 6000 miles away. Before he left for his mission I took him to a couple of different doctors to check on symptoms he was having that concerned us. We were told by everyone, he was fine. But guess what? When he got to Brazil, they appeared again. They gave him some medicine there, and while it fixed one problem, it didn't fix all of them, and we believe the side effects of the medicine they gave him have made things worse, because now some miserable symptoms won't go away. So, then he was doing his best to just live with it, but it was difficult with the demands of being a full time missionary. Through several phone calls and emails, his mission president explained that he wasn't just sacrificing, he was suffering. His doctor suggested to me that he might need another medicine, but they weren't at liberty there to make that change, so the decision was made that he should come home. He said a great spirit of peace came over him in the temple two days before he left, when he wanted a final confirmation. When I first heard he might come home early, I was sad, but immediately felt peace too. It took a couple of weeks, however, for my mind to really accept this. I wanted him to have a great mission experience, and this wasn't what any of us expected. I felt myself grieving once again for what was not to be. But, on the day he came home, again, there was a great feeling of peace. We love this boy. We want him to be well! Now I will not stop until I have found out how to solve these problems. Enough!
At his release, Pres. Ashby told us all (him included) not to feel ashamed because he had served an honorable mission. He was faithful and obedient in every way. He is now a returned missionary. And still 19 - weird, but that's our reality. I have a doctor's appointment scheduled for tomorrow, and hopefully we can start getting his health restored. Right now he sleeps a lot and hurts. This is our boy who thrived on physical activity, and to see him wiped out makes us sad, but grateful for the opportunity to help him.
Last night he shared his pictures with my parents. My dad asked him what he liked best, and he said, watching people change, and see the light come into their eyes when they felt the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ work in their lives. Then my dad asked him what he didn't like about it, and he paused, and said, except for being sick, he couldn't think of anything he didn't like. It was a privilege for him to get to live and work in Brazil. He will always cherish those memories.
It was a big week last week. MyGirl got her braces off the day before her brother came home. Look at those straight teeth! She did not want me to take her picture, but in reality she is looking beautiful these days. She's lost weight, has some new cute clothes, wears makeup more and is blossoming into a lovely young lady. She lives with so much, so its fun for her to have something to get past, and we're glad braces for her are forever done!
I finally finished the challenge quilt and got to share it Thur. night. So many ladies were so sweet and complementary. I added the felt stars and buttons to cover up a couple of mistakes, and then just kept adding them because I liked the whimsical look. Its a wall hanging. I learned a lot. It was fun to work smaller than a whole quilt and more doable in my life.
Below are the books our son brought back to keep up his Portuguese. He learned how to speak pretty fluently. He wants to keep it up. Its been fun to hear him choose a Portuguese word when he thinks it is better than the English word to describe what he's really trying to say.
He was blessed to go to the temple in Sao Paulo several times and now a picture of it hangs in his bedroom. I'll have to take a picture of that soon. He bought this scripture cover case as a reminder of his great experiences there.
And, its been good for all of us to spend time with him again. He is a blessing still wherever he goes. His president wrote me an email and told me that everyone who had worked with him would miss him. He is a faithful and good young man. In all of this, his testimony of the Savior has stayed strong, and in fact grown. And, in his heart, he will always be a missionary.
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