Mother’s
Day Miracle
And we will also always remember this day, when a stranger turned angel,
was inspired to bring joy and healing, as we experienced our very own Mother’s Day Miracle.
I was very much dreading this particular Mother’s Day in 2003
because after 22 years of a Temple marriage, I was now going through a very
heartbreaking and painful divorce, and was having a hard time accepting and comprehending all
that was going on around me. I was also
the mother of 5 children (Joshua, Jeremy, Jamie, Jacob and Janson - ages 7 to
20), but the excruciating pain and turmoil inside me was making it very difficult to
look forward to a celebration of motherhood.
My brother, Doug, and his new wife, Rochelle, were asked to
speak on Mother’s Day in their ward in Pleasant Grove, and so they invited me
and my children to be there with them.
This invitation was an answer to prayer so that I could be with extended
family at church that day. My own ward
was extremely loving and understanding, but I knew I would not be able to hold
back my tears among so many close and wonderful friends. And this needed to be a happy day for others
even though my dread and sadness for this day was very real and very deep.
However, even though attending my brother’s ward was an
answer to my prayers, I always had an apprehension about attending a new ward
because my oldest child, Joshua, had autism, severe mental delays,
hyperactivity and also had epilepsy – and can be quite distractive in
church. At age 20, over 6 feet tall and
very handsome, with the behavior of a toddler, he definitely was noticeable and
not very reverent. Joshua especially
loved to throw things, shake hands, say “hi, hi, hi” and give exuberant high
fives to friends and strangers! I
brought homemade books and family pictures to help keep Joshua’s attention more
on track. Knowing the type of “scene” we
might make, I still felt very strongly about being with Doug and Rochelle, and
also supporting my brother and giving back to him just a little bit of all the
support he had given to me.
As I had anticipated, our presence was certainly known
because of Joshua – from the moment we walked into the church building and into
the chapel. To hopefully control the
situation a bit, we sat on the back row in the chapel. With his deep manly voice, Joshua was his
usual loud with his toddler-type talking.
He also gave his special and enthusiastic happy greetings (high fives
and handshakes) to anyone who walked by.
He repeatedly stood up and down, and even had a grand-mal-seizure toward
the beginning of the meeting. I was
hoping and praying that we could at least make it through the Sacrament, and if
that miracle happened, maybe we could even listen to Doug and Rochelle’s talks!
I noticed the obvious discomfort of people sitting near us
as they tried not to stare. My 18-year
old son, Jeremy, whispered anxiously to me that “everyone is looking at
us.” I tried to assure Jeremy that
everything would be fine, despite the stares, concern, curiosity and confusion
(which happened on a daily basis anytime we were in a public place). Our home ward was very loving and understanding
of Joshua, and they always helped me multiple times every Sunday and even
considered his “noise” to be reverent because of their deep love for him.
Jeremy, Jamie, Jacob and Janson were very mature and did
what they could to help divert Joshua’s attention to a more reverent behavior,
if that was even possible. I was always
so touched by their love for Joshua.
During the Sacrament, the deacons were so reverent and impressive
as they passed the bread and water. I
was extremely surprised and touched when suddenly one deacon gave Joshua a
“high-five” as he passed us the tray of bread.
And then I was even further touched when a second deacon gave Joshua another
“high five” when he passed us the tray of water. High fives always brought Joshua joy as was
made manifest by his noises of happiness!
What wonderful young men to be so aware and compassionate as to know
just what Joshua needed during the Sacrament.
I felt like I was in my own ward, with friends showing Joshua such love
and understanding. This touched my heart
deeply. It also gave us a few extra
minutes to make it through the talks as Joshua’s behavior was that much easier when
he was happy even though he still could be very loud with his happy noises.
And then after the passing of the Sacrament, Bishop Gurr stood
up, and began to introduce the meeting.
He started out by saying that approximately 25 years ago,
when he was a young man in that very ward, they had a very special visitor that
day, and that visitor was Boyd K. Packer.
He told how President Packer was there that day to help bless a new
grand-baby as his daughter was in that ward.
And he talked about how special it was to have a General Authority come,
and that this was the last time a General Authority had come to this ward. He then told the Ward that today, they had
another very special visitor. (I
remember starting to look around, wondering who was there that day.)
And then came the beautiful words I was not expecting to
hear … Bishop Gurr said that this special visitor was sitting in the back row with
his family, and that he was a special needs visitor. And this very kind, compassionate and
sensitive Bishop told the entire congregation that he was just as special of a
visitor to this ward as Boyd K. Packer was 25 years ago.
By this point, the tears were streaming down my face as I
received such a strong witness and testimony of Joshua’s worth from a bishop I
had never before met. (Jeremy said my
tears looked like Niagara Falls, but this waterfall of tears were full of pure joy). Bishop Gurr taught his ward members so much
that day of pure charity, and on the worth of my very special son, by just a
few words of love and compassion. I will
forever cherish these words and this very special and cherished moment.
A few minutes later as my wonderful brother added his own
words of love and support to me, I was so thankful for Heavenly Father’s love, for
His awareness of my family and our needs, for the recognition of the worth of
Joshua and my own worth, and for modern-day miracles given just when they are
needed the most. (D&C 18:10)
A few months later as my brother sat in Bishop Gurr’s office
for an interview, he noticed Joshua’s picture on the bulletin board right next
to his own children. Doug’s surprise and
question at seeing Joshua’s picture invited a very memorable answer from this compassionate
bishop. Bishop Gurr told Doug that the
picture had been left behind in Sacrament meeting that day, and that he then hung
the picture up on his bulletin board so that he could always remember the day
he met Joshua.
And we will also always remember this day, when a stranger
turned angel, was inspired to bring joy and healing, as we experienced our very
own Mother’s Day Miracle.
