Tender Mercy

A Little Back Story
Four and a half years ago (June 2011) we had stake conference. It was a special conference because we were visited by Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi of the First Quorum of the Seventy. We were able to sit in one of the side pews just a few rows back, and were grateful for the chance that the girls and I had to see better. There were a lot of people at that conference and it was incredible.

I will never forget that day. We were sitting on the pew listening to Elder Kikuchi's address. I was sitting next to Brian (he was sitting by the aisle) and the kids were sitting between me and the wall. I looked over at Liz and she had gone stiff. Her body was rigid and her arms and hands were in the strangest position. Even thought I wasn't very close to her, I could tell that her eyes didn't look normal. I grabbed Brian and got his attention. He pulled Liz onto his lap, and in a few seconds, that felt like hours, her body relaxed. She looked pale. Brian took her out to the car to lay down for a bit.

I was a mess. I was pretty certain that she had just had a seizure. I was so worried. Tears poured down my cheeks. I couldn't focus on anything that was being said. The lady sitting behind me dropped something into my lap. It was a pack of tissues.

The next day we took Liz to her pediatrician, she had an MRI and an EEG that very week. We were referred to a neurologist at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake and we went there less than two weeks after the seizure.

To make this already long story not too much longer, Liz has never had a seizure since that time. The doctor said it isn't unusual for kids to have one random seizure. She told us that if Liz was going to have another one it would probably happen within six to nine months of the first one. It is not something we have to worry about.

For the first year I thought about it a lot, and then a little less in the year after that. I haven't forgotten this, but I haven't thought about it in a while. Until today . . .

Today's Tender Mercy
Today was another stake conference day. Liz and I were singing in the choir. Brian and the other kids were sitting on the front middle bench. Brian told me after the meeting that he had a conversation with the sister that sat next to us. She told him that she was sitting behind us several years ago. She said that she remembered that our daughter fainted or something. She told him that she had watched his wife (me) crying and worried, and how she had said a silent prayer for me and for our family. She told Brian how she has watched our family over the years and how impressed she is with how the kids have always behaved.

Knowing of this sister's prayer that day touches my heart. I don't even know her name, but her kindness reminds me that we can help in more ways than we think sometimes. I am so grateful that she spoke with Brian today.