Luke 24:15-35 tells the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, soon after the resurrection of Christ. The Savior walks with them, "but their eyes were holden that they should not know them". One of the disciples was almost certainly Luke, the other is identified as Cleopas. A chronicler in 180 A.D. said he had years before interviewed the grandsons of Jude the Apostle, and learned that Cleopas was Jesus uncle, the brother of Joseph. Surely both these men would have been very familiar with Jesus, yet they did not know who he was until he broke bread.
The Lord is the perfect secret giver. We ask for blessings, and if they are right, the Lord answers our prayers, but often in a way that we don't see them. One of our kids used to really stress out at the beginning of each high school year. Mom and I thought this kid would die from all the stress. We would pray fervently that they would learn how to find balance in their life, and be able to do as well in school as they desired, but also have time to enjoy life. We would pray for months, and then slowly start to forget about it. Later in the year, mom and I were talking, and the thought came to us - do remember how we used to pray so hard for this child to be able to find happiness and balance in school? It happened, and we didn't even realize it!
It happens all the time. Mom and I were so worried about Kylie's health since Wendy was so sick throughout the pregnancy. We prayed and prayed and prayed that Kylie would be healthy and strong and have all her faculties. And here we are three month later, and never took the time to stop and think about the small miracle that is before us.
I remember Granny and Grampy telling us once that they worried more about us kids when we were in our twenties than they did when we were teenagers. I think mom and I would agree with that to a certain extent. We have fervently prayed for each of you as you have left the nest and faced difficult challenges. And our prayers have been answered. We continue to pray for each of you and the challenges you face, but we need to take more time to remember, see and thank.
This morning, we took a moment to pray and thank the Lord that each of our children have been married in the temple. We're thankful that you have all found and married wonderful, interesting and worthy people. We are thankful for our grandchildren. We're thankful that each of you, children and spouses, are fighters, and never give up.
I'm thankful for your angel-mother, who prays with as much faith as anyone I know. When I was called into the mission presidency, the outgoing counselor said that the other counselor prayed with much faith, and it felt like you were standing in the presence of the Lord when he prayed. I have heard him pray, and I would agree, but it wasn't as astonishing to me, as I had heard similar prayers from your mom. Each of you have seen and heard and felt mom pray. You have seen her weep, you have heard her plead, you have felt the Spirit confirm her words. I'm not saying that her prayers will protect us from every challenge that life has to throw at us - it won't. But I do know that many prayers that were 'right' have been answered. I DO know that with prayer, we can get through everything.
Pray like your mom! Let's be united in prayer, and all pray for each other! We love you!
