A Moment of Peace

Where do I begin? I'm not posting this for sympathy, but to share the beautiful experience I was able to have today. First of all, I want to say to all those Mom's whose husbands are away from home....those husbands that may be serving our country, or something else that keeps them away from home for long periods of time, I don't know how you do it. Jim has been gone since the first of January with the exception of most weekends. It has now switched over to being gone two weeks at a time then home for a very short weekend before he is gone again. These weeks have seemed like an eternity. This has been a very hard thing for our family, especially because we are the type that tries to spend as much time together as we can. I have reached my breaking point several times the last several months, but with the support of family, I have pulled through. I know this has been very difficult on Jim also. He misses his family very much and wants to be home to see his girls.

As I looked over the schedule of events for this week, I knew it was going to be a very busy one. There was a doctor's appointment, soccer almost every night, and piano. On top of that there was trying to get the house ready to sell. It all seemed very overwhelming as I realized I was doing this myself. Wednesday I remembered that this Sunday is my turn to teach Relief Society. Oh great, when am I going to find time to prepare a lesson. Oh ya, we also signed up to clean the church on Saturday. Of course it's the weekend Jim is gone. Let's hope the girls are willing to help and that Samantha sleeps while we are cleaning. As I sat in the kitchen Wednesday with Lexie trying to eat some lunch, Lexie points out the ants crawling on the kitchen floor...What!!!!...Just another thing to deal with. That's when I remembered that the previous Sunday in church they announced Ward Temple night on Friday. I immediately thought, "I need to go to the Temple. I can go on Friday. Jim's mom can watch the girls. It will work." As the next two days unfolded, I kept waiting for something to come up that would keep me from going because something usually does. I arranged with Connie to watch the kids still expecting something to happen so I wouldn't make it there. At 2:50 P.M. I found myself sitting in the waiting room for the session to start. It has been a very long time since I have gone to the Temple without Jim. This made me miss him even more. The session was very beautiful. As the session ended, I realized that I was the last one to enter the Celestial room. I sat down to enjoy my time there and within a few minutes, I was the only one left in the Celestial room (besides the matron). I became so overwhelmed with the spirit and the peacefulness that I felt. I didn't want to leave, but knew I had a hungry baby waiting for me. I took in every second that I could and just enjoyed it. After picking up the girls from Connie's and doing a little grocery shopping, I returned home to the same house that I left.....dishes in the sink that have been piling up for two days....and ants mounded around a french fry that was dropped on the floor two days ago. Only now I was much more relaxed and those messes didn't bother me. I know Heavenly Father made it possible for me to go to the Temple today. Whenever Jim and I go to the Temple I usually say afterward, "Ha Ha Satin, we made it and you didn't stop us!" This time I didn't say that because Satin was no where around. Everything just opened up and it was so easy to be there. I thank my Heavenly Father for letting me have this experience today. I know things will still be difficult the next few months, but I can look back at this experience and hold onto that peace I felt and know that I can return to the Temple to feel it again.