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What is a miracle?
According to the Websters Dictionary, a miracle is defined as an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs, or an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment. There are BIG miracles, when we can see the divine intervention of God in more of an obvious in your face circumstance, but can we have smaller miracles. Some miracles take place quietly, such as when a person gains a testimony of God’s truth, experiences a mighty change of heart, obtains forgiveness from the Lord, or is blessed with peace and strength during a difficult time. We might see the divine…
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Wings of Faith
I wanted to make my son’s Christmas wish come true and see in his face the joy I desperately wanted for myself. My three-year-old squeaks with excitement. His response is an innocent reply to my offhanded question, “What do you want for Christmas?” I mutter a hesitant “We’ll see” before putting him to bed, relishing the rare moments I get to spend with him. I’ve been too out of sorts to be present most of the time. The unceasing screams of his sister, suffering from colic, keep pulling me into the black hole of postpartum depression. I feel like a…
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Mom’s Empty Chair
My husband and I lived in the same ward as my angel mother. Each Sunday, as a member of the Relief Society presidency, I sat at the front of the Relief Society room, facing the sisters. My mother always sat in the same place on the front row. I enjoyed watching her responses to the lessons and hearing her comments. After each meeting, she kissed my cheek and squeezed my hand. My mother and I were close, so it broke my heart when she passed away unexpectedly. After her funeral, my emotions remained tender. When Sunday arrived, my husband asked…
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Stuck
One winter while I was driving home from a wedding reception for several hours in the middle of the night, the snowy weather became frighteningly intense. I was driving through a canyon, with 30 icy miles (48 km) stretched between me and my home. Almost instantly, it seemed, the road got slicker, the night sky darker, my eyes heavier, and the falling snow much thicker. Having foolishly forgotten to put my mother’s sport-utility vehicle into four-wheel drive, I realized there was little traction, but that thought arrived too late. I completely lost all control of the vehicle and began sliding across…
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Just Trust Me
Have you ever had a week where you told God “look. I know you are going to tell me that everything is going to be ok but this time I’m not sure you are right.” We have a convention that we are heading to this week. In the past week, I received an email with a cost I wasn’t aware of, bringing my total of show costs up so high, I thought there might not be any profit to be had. I was so discouraged with “the future” of this show, I completely shut down. I knew if I turned…
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Sister, I Love You
During an interview while I served in an elders quorum presidency, I asked a fellow quorum member if he had ever felt and acted on a spiritual prompting. He thought for a moment and shared an experience. One afternoon he was washing dishes when he received a strong impression to go knock on a neighbor’s door. He did not understand why, but the prompting was powerful and urgent. He stopped what he was doing and left right away. He arrived at his neighbor’s door, not knowing what to do or say, and knocked. No one answered. He knocked again. There…
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The Tale of the Curly Hair
This story is such a funny story. In 2021, I wanted curly hair again. I’d had curly hair growing up, not because I had naturally curly hair but because in the 80’s, perms were a popular thing and my mom knew how to give them. I asked my hairdresser if he could give me a perm. I’d let my hair grow out just long enough to give it a shot. He agreed, confirmed to me how great it would look and gave me a perm. Friends. I hated it. It was more frizzy than curly, it poked out in all…
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The Power of Desperate Prayer
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Letting Go
The other day, I felt prompted to write a very difficult story down in which I lost $21,000 dollars. This was a hard experience to go through losing that money I didn’t have, and the lesson was just as hard, that money really doesn’t matter to God, it shouldn’t matter so much to me. He asked me to let go, and I, after quite a while, conceded. Not initially because I felt I was really ready to let go of that money, but I needed God back in my life. That was the more important thing. Through time, I was…
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Healing the Issue of Blood
With Easter a few weeks past (but still on my mind) I’m remembering the Miracles that Jesus performed here while He was on this earth. Each miracle had a purpose in healing, but, with all of His parables lies additional truth for us to find. In this story, this woman made great efforts to get close to the Savior for this healing. She didn’t just hope for healing, she sought Him out. We don’t really know her name, but Jesus knew her, calling her “Daughter.” Many times we feel forgotten, unknown, unloved or broken. Friends. He knows your name. It…
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A Miracle Through My Struggles
On January 7, 2023, I woke up to complete blindness in my right eye and only about 10 percent vision in my left eye. The world had suddenly faded to gray—literally. Color and light were gone. I was left in darkness, fear, and doubt. As an artist, all I ever wanted to do was add to the beauty of the world through art—a passion I have had nearly my entire life. What would I do if I could no longer see, participate in, or appreciate beauty in the world? A few days earlier, my eyes became sensitive to light, and sharp…
