"Remember Joshua's Encouragement"

Jeremy ... Jacob ... Janson

"Remember Joshua's Encouragement"

Miracle at LDS General Conference

On Sunday, April 3, 2016, my beautiful daughter, Jamie Eisenstat, was making her debut in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!  Well, this was so exciting for all of us!  Jamie had worked so hard, and although auditions for the Choir are extremely rigorous and demanding, she made it!  I was looking so forward to this special day to see her at General Conference and completely joy in the thrill of her performance with this incredible Mormon Tabernacle Choir!

My handsome sons, Jeremy, Jacob and Janson were there with me, which is always extra special.  As a single Mom, I always love this precious Mom time no matter how old they are!!  And through my wonderful friend Kristy, we had seats on the 9th row!!  In fact, we laughed because when we picked up our tickets, we were told, "oh ... YOU have the red tickets."  We didn't know what that meant.  But they joked that we would need an escort to our seats.  Well, we basically did!  We kept walking closer and closer to the front, and there we were -- in the middle, 9th row back!  We could see everything so clearly!

I cried tears of joy as Jamie walked to her seat with the Choir!  This was incredibly special and such a joyous Mom moment.  I was sitting with my boys, supporting Jamie and I was so thankful.

And we were close enough to see her so well!  And she could see us!!  This moment cannot be adequately described it was so incredibly wonderful and special!!

Jamie was beautiful.  Her countenance was filled with light!  I am still in awe and gratitude for this wonderful blessing in her life, and all of her lives!


But I always have a little sadness in my heart that all of my children will never be all together on these special occasions.  So on this very special day, I prayed in my heart, that I would feel Joshua with us today.

The second to last speaker was Elder Paul V. Johnson titled "And There Shall Be No More Death."  He spoke tenderly and lovingly of his daughter Alisa who died of cancer.  His words were powerful and hopeful.  I thought of my Joshua, of my Dad and the great hope that they are whole, happy and we will see them again.  He said:

I am grateful for the blessings that are ours because of the Atonement and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. For all who have laid a child in a grave or wept over the casket of a spouse or grieved over the death of a parent or someone they loved, the Resurrection is a source of great hope. What a powerful experience it will be to see them again—not just as spirits but with resurrected bodies.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/and-there-shall-be-no-more-death?lang=eng


The final speaker is a favorite, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.  He spoke about looking at the audience, and that became very personal that day!  I truly felt like he saw all 4 of us, on the 9th row and that he somehow knew us!  And then he gave us all a great and powerful pep talk on perseverance, and faith, and miracles!  He is so inspiring and powerful.   Part of the way through his talk, he stated:

 Keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. 
Heaven is cheering you on 
today, tomorrow, and forever.

(We have Joshua and my Dad cheering us on!!)

And then to become even more personal, he further stated:

If gospel standards seem high and the personal improvement needed in the days ahead seems out of reach, remember Joshua’s encouragement to his people when they faced a daunting future. “Sanctify yourselves,” he said, “for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”  I declare that same promise. It is the promise of this conference. It is the promise of this Church. It is the promise of Him who performs those wonders, who is Himself “Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, ... The Prince of Peace.”  Of Him I bear witness. Of Him I am a witness. And to Him this conference stands as a testament of His ongoing work in this great latter day. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Left

It was as if I could hear Joshua saying those words of encouragement personally to me.  And saying "I love you Mom.  I am aware of your heartaches and struggles.  And I am here for you."  Joshua's understanding of the plan of salvation and the promises of eternity are beyond my comprehension now and I know Joshua really is cheering me and my whole family on!  I felt a greater faith and joy at the promises of miracles and blessings.  I am so very, very thankful for this personal blessing and power of Elder Holland's words, and the incredible miracle of feeling all 5 of my beautiful children together that special day.




https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/tomorrow-the-lord-will-do-wonders-among-you?lang=eng

"Come What May, and Love It" General Conference Talk

Favorite General Conference Talk

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

"Come What May, and Love It"

by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

October 2008

Jamie pushing Joshua at Zions National Park

This talk was given on October 4, 2008 - exactly three years after Joshua passed away.  I called my former boss, Charles Dahlquist, and asked if he could get me tickets to this session.  That was just the perfect place to be as we remembered Joshua.  Charles was able to get me 5 tickets, and they were amazing seats, not very far from the front!  I had hoped to feel Joshua's influence especially sweet that day, and there were Joshua moments all around us!  

First, Jamie was there with a friend, and my close and amazing friend Jill and her daughter Kerstin were also there.  That was a joy in itself!  The choir was a combined children's choir, and their first song was "I Am A Child of God" - one of Joshua's favorite songs, and one that Jill sang with Debi Jensen at his funeral.  And the children were adorable - especially on the big screen with their wiggles, smiles and innocense!  And then Elder Wirthlin spoke on trials, and specifically spoke about his own grandson with autism - see clip below.  And then Elder Holland spoke on the ministry of angels.  I will include that in a future clip.  I felt God's hand in a very special and sweet experience.  I am so thankful.

He does talk about the principle of compensation, which bring so much hope and perspective as we go through the hardest trials of our life.  

And then what made this talk even more meaningful was that it was Elder Wirthlin's last talk before he died.  We did not know that at the time, but we feel very honored and blessed to have seen him give this talk.

And his grandson played baseball!  It was so similar to sweet, funny and inspiring times when Joshua played adapted t-ball.  It was always incredible and filled with joy!!

Joshua and Jamie



Because Heavenly Father is merciful, a principle of compensation prevails. I have seen this in my own life. My grandson Joseph has autism. It has been heartbreaking for his mother and father to come to grips with the implications of this affliction.

They knew that Joseph would probably never be like other children. They understood what that would mean not only for Joseph but for the family as well. But what a joy he has been to us. Autistic children often have a difficult time showing emotion, but every time I’m with him, Joseph gives me a big hug. While there have been challenges, he has filled our lives with joy.

His parents have encouraged him to participate in sports. When he first started playing baseball, he was in the outfield. But I don’t think he grasped the need to run after loose balls. He thought of a much more efficient way to play the game. When a ball was hit in his direction, Joseph watched it go by and then pulled another baseball out of his pocket and threw that one to the pitcher.

Any reservations that his family may have had in raising Joseph, any sacrifices they have made have been compensated tenfold. Because of this choice spirit, his mother and father have learned much about children with disabilities. They have witnessed firsthand the generosity and compassion of family, neighbors, and friends. They have rejoiced together as Joseph has progressed. They have marveled at his goodness.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/come-what-may-and-love-it?lang=eng

"Special Lessons" General Conference Talk

Favorite General Conference Talk

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

 

"Special Lessons"

by Elder Ronald A. Rasband

April 2012

Selma helping Joshua unwrap a present

Little brothers were awesome to play with Joshua

I love this talk given by the grandfather of a child born with special needs.  He begins his talk as follows:

For the past 20 months, our family has been blessed with the privilege of having a very special baby.

Little Paxton, our grandson, was born with a very rare chromosomal deletion, a genetic disorder that distinguishes him, literally, as one in hundreds of millions. For our daughter and her husband, an uncharted, life-changing journey began when Paxton was born. This experience has become a crucible for learning special lessons tied to the eternities. 

For the rest of the talk, please click on: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/special-lessons?lang=eng

As he speaks of being "blessed" and eternal lessons, my heart is filled with gratitude for our own special lessons we learned for 22 years with Joshua, and even beyond his death.  We experienced and learned pure love, sacrifice, friendship and friendliness, service, prayer, compassion, strength and especially charity and the love of our Savior for each one of us.  Every day was a blessing with the various experiences, challenges, insights, sacrifice and love.  This blog is a celebration of these very special lessons and this very wonderful journey.

I am thankful every day that I was blessed to be Joshua's Mom.

"Lord I Believe" - Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

"Lord, I Believe"

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

April 2013

A Favorite General Conference Talk

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

This talk, given in the April 2013 General Conference as noted above spoke straight to my heart as Elder Holland spoke about the daily struggles and challenges of raising a child with disabilities.  The beauty of the love given by our Savior in his understanding, compassion and hope for healing, are there for each one of us in our individual and unique heartaches, challenges and struggles.  In reading these words, I know the Savior knew the depth of my fear, heartache and fatigue in dealing with Joshua's epilepsy and his seizures that were so very frightening and harmful.  I know we had more help than I realized, and am so thankful for pure love and compassion from His loving arms.

Joshua literally did fall into the water symbolically and literally and into the fire symbolically anytime he had a seizure.  Some of the most frightening seizures were in the bathtub or the pool.  Each of the kids helped during those times as I would have to call for help because I needed strength beyond my own.  I specifically remember a time when my daughter, Jamie, helped me hold Joshua up out of the water when he had a seizure in about 4 feet of water when we were swimming.  We both used all her strength to get him through that seizure so he would not drown.  Jamie's strength and determination were inspiring and such a blessing.  I also know I was given strength beyond my own spiritually as I could never have kept Joshua safe without the love and strength of my Savior, Jesus Christ.

Here are my favorite words, with the link of the full text of the talk below.

With no other hope remaining, this father asserts what faith he has and pleads with the Savior of the world, “If thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.” I can hardly read those words without weeping. The plural pronoun us is obviously used intentionally. This man is saying, in effect, “Our whole family is pleading. Our struggle never ceases. We are exhausted. Our son falls into the water. He falls into the fire. He is continually in danger, and we are continually afraid. We don’t know where else to turn. Can you help us? We will be grateful for anything—a partial blessing, a glimmer of hope, some small lifting of the burden carried by this boy’s mother every day of her life.”

“If thou canst do any thing,” spoken by the father, comes back to him “If thou canst believe,” spoken by the Master.

“Straightway,” the scripture says—not slowly nor skeptically nor cynically but “straightway”—the father cries out in his unvarnished parental pain, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” In response to new and still partial faith, Jesus heals the boy, almost literally raising him from the dead, as Mark describes the incident.

^{For the entire text of the talk, go to:}

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/lord-i-believe?lang=eng