Hello everyone,
I just got off the phone with my father. My mother is back in the LDS hospital of Salt Lake. After a phone call to the doctor on Monday they were instructed to bring her right up. Our cousin Gordon Pace and his wife (Our landlords) hooked up there fifth wheel and drove her up to SLC with my Dad following in the car. In our conversation my father stated how my mother is doing well at all. She was omitted for problems with her liver. She was scheduled to have surgery yesterday and today but because of her low energy and resistance it has been delayed. She is being fed high protein intravenously to bring her levels up. The doctor said that hopefully it will only be a few days until she is to the level where she needs to be, however, realistically it will take up to a month to get to that level. My first thoughts on this were overwhelming. After turning to the scriptures I now feel selfish. Who am I to decide if what my mother is going through is just or un-just.
I'm having a hard time choosing a topic for this update. I have a lot on my mind. Sometimes I feel that if I could turn back time I would change so many things. But in reality what good would that do. I would not learn any lessen and gain no experience. That is why we are here today. To change our future. To look into tomorrow and see ourselves living the life we want to live. My problem is that I want it all now! I have a hard time exercising the patience needed to see that where I am today is right where I desired to be yesterday. Sometimes we get caught up in our wants that we ignore our needs. What do we truly need to survive? recalling what I learned in school, we need oxygen, water, food, shelter, clothes, and love. Can we honestly survive without any of these items I just listed? In my own words, not very long. I remember my teacher telling a story about an orphanage. They had two rooms on each floor. On the bottom floor were the babies. In the room to the right with no windows were babies that were ill, and most did not live very long. In the room to the left were healthy, strong, vibrant babies. They were all fed consistently, at the same time, the same portions of food, the same types of food. They were all bathed in the same way and treated with the same hygiene methods. Everything was the same. So they thought. In the room to the left sat right next door to an old folks home. They could communicate through the windows and the employees and old folks would come to visit those they saw through the glass. The orphanage caught onto this. They soon started to rotate week in and out. Moving the group of babies from one room to the other. Very shortly you could not tell a difference in the babies.
It seems to me that now days more and more people focus on supplying all the needs to their family other than love. They neglect to make sure they are loved. What good is a large house, a nice car, or a dream lifestyle if your family never sees you. I have heard the comment before, "my kids won't remember me being gone all the time when they are older!" So what. We can not emphasize on the future. Things will be better when........ I think it's this attitude that is corrupting our society. Even if your kids don't remember when they are younger, but the Lord will. He makes no exceptions. If a person burns the midnight oil and never sees his family, is always working to provide the best needs and wants, and dies the next day in an automobile accident what has he accomplished. In my eyes, nothing. The monetary riches that we obtain in this life cannot becarried over to the next life. I've heard a joke that is all too true. A very wealthy man passes away. In doing so he pleads with the Lord to let him take with him all that he has possessed in this life. The Lord agrees to let him but it must be converted to gold. The greedy man agrees. He starts pushing this wheel barrel full of gold up the stairs to the top. He meets Saint Peter, and Saint Peter starts laughing. The man is very confused. Saint Peter calls for one of his assistants. Saint Peter says, "Take this wheel barrel full of pavement to the stock yard. An analogy that I heard in seminary goes right along with this. At the beginning of class we walked into the room and there was string, strung up all over the room. All connected except for two pieces at the front of the room. After many questions our teacher then tied a knot. "This one knot" He stated "Is equivalent to the time we spend here on earth." I know this to be true. The short time we have to dwell on this earth should be spent on obtaining every need. Yet, not at the expense of the gospel or our families. Should we sacrifice our time and money to be with our families or to serve a calling in our church? That is up to each one of us to decide. I will tell you this, Do what the lord asks and everything we have dreamed of that has a worthy purpose will be ours. Everything. That is a powerful statement and promise but I know it to be true. Because I am experiencing it right now. It is safe to say that amongst all my trials and all that I am struggling with right now. I am the happiest I have ever been. How? That is the question that I ask myself. I don't have the answer to it either. All I know is how I am living my life right now has a great deal to do with it. And it can only get better.
I will close with this quote.
You can download or read any of these thoughts at http://www.walden3d.com/nate I feel strongly about keeping in touch and expressing our thoughts, ideas and interests. Please let me know how things are going on your end. If there is anything that you would like to post for everyone to read you can do that as well.
Best Regards,
Nathan Pace
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