Microphone Miracle

Microphone Miracle

Betty’s Microphone Miracle – a Divine Synchronicity

My sweet mother, Betty Marie Lyman Rasmussen, is now 94 years old.
She fills her days cross stitching beautiful heirloom pieces,
playing solitaire on her iPad, and reading Christian novels.

Sometimes she thinks she is insignificant, and wonders why she’s still here,
because, she says, “I’m no use to anybody anymore – I can’t do much of anything.”
I tell her she’s still here for Love.
She’s got seven children (and their spouses),
36 grandchildren,
and 76 great grandchildren.
That’s a lot of love.

We take her to church on Sundays.
This week, feeling stronger, she chose to use her walker rather than the wheelchair,
even though the corridor from the church door to the chapel seems like miles for her to walk.
Making her way to the pew, she parked her walker in the aisle.

As the meeting began, the Bishop’s Counselor apologized to the congregation
that the microphone at the pulpit was malfunctioning, for reasons unknown.
It was giving off loud static – and none of their repair efforts had been effective.
So they turned it off and did a work-around, bringing in a hand held microphone on a long cord.

Today was Fast and Testimony Meeting –
where congregation members are invited to share our
testimonies of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as inspired by the Holy Spirit.

And today, my dear mother, without a word to me,
saw her opportunity, and being unencumbered without the wheelchair,
but empowered by her walker, stood up and walked up the aisle to bear her testimony.
Thankfully, the Bishop saw her coming, and brought the microphone to her.

There, before several hundred people in the chapel,
my dear, sweet, frail mother turned and stood as tall as she could,
and told us all we were beautiful.

She expressed gratitude for the malfunctioning of the main microphone,
and the availability of the corded microphone,
because it could be handed to her,
as she could not walk up the steps to the podium to bear her testimony.

She expressed her gratitude for her membership in the Church
through her 94 years on this earth, and all it has meant to her.
She expressed gratitude for the truths in the Book of Mormon and other scriptures,
which she has read multiple times in her life
And she expressed gratitude for the multiple times she has been
healed through the power of the Lord…
that her life would have been so very different without it…
she may not have lived even past the age of 4,
but that would be a story for another day.

I took Mother home after Sacrament meeting,
then returned for the rest of the Sunday Services.
The Bishop stopped to speak with me –
He said the microphone was working perfectly as soon as the meeting ended…
and he felt sure that the microphone malfunction was specifically a blessing for Betty…
a divine synchronicity, creating conditions to be just right for her to
bear her testimony and speak the gratitude she felt in her heart.

I am grateful for my mother,
and how she “walks by faith, nothing wavering”.

I am grateful to know in my heart that none of us are ever too old,
or too young, or too disabled, or too insignificant
for God to know our needs, our hopes and our dreams,
and to bless us with a little miracle now and then.

Today, I am specifically grateful for Betty’s Microphone Miracle.

Blessings,
Jo Lyn

He Is Risen

He Is Risen

He is Risen

This Easter morning, I reflect on my belief in Jesus Christ.

I spent ten years of my life as an owner / operator of a small elder care home, where I and my staff cared for elderly and disabled residents in my own home.

In caregiving, it is important to honor the personal beliefs and perspectives of those you care for. Their religious views may differ from yours, but the caregiver’s role is to be supportive. I was often asked about my beliefs. I would reply that I am a person of great faith. That gave comfort without judgment.

I learned so many lessons from this time of intense immersion in the lives of others who were nearing their time of passing from this life to the next. There is a great amount of internal spiritual work that people do near the end of mortal life – even by those who suffer from dementia or mental health issues.

In those ten years, many passed away in my care home.
All but one of them were people of faith.
While they did have different religious views, all except that one expressed faith in God. Those who professed faith experienced passings that were calm, sweet, and sacred experiences for them and their families.

Except one… who professed to be an atheist. A widow, this woman had one son (an alcoholic) and two friends (a couple) who occasionally visited, who were also professed atheists. When her heart condition worsened and the doctors said nothing more could be done medically to extend her life, her son never came again, and her friends came only once more. They took me aside and told me that none of them would come again, because the end of life was so frightening and depressing.

Abandoned at the last by her son and her friends, it was my caregivers who sat by her side for hours, holding her hand and bringing what comfort they could as she did her end of life internal spiritual work. Sometimes, she would be apparrently sleeping, then suddenly sit upright and begin shrieking, even screaming, as though she had seen demons on the other side. Perhaps she did, I do not know.

It seems logical to me, a believer, that if one rejects God, one is then open to the influence of the enemy of God. Nonetheless, full of fear, this woman essentially died alone… except for the presence of those who attended her on this side of the veil, and those who awaited her on the other side according to her choices… as it is for us all.

For me, this ten year caregiving experience was a profound eye-opener. I saw such a dramatic difference in the end results of the lives of those who chose faith versus those who consciously chose fear.

And I am eternally grateful for the rich heritage of blessings and I receive each and every day through my choice to believe in my Savior Jesus Christ.

I choose love. I choose faith. I choose hope. I choose life.

He is Risen.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.
It is done, it is done, it is done.

Some Gratitude

Some Gratitude

Some Gratitude

28 Day Gratitude Practice Day 8 – Counting My Blessings

In Gratitude for…
… Some Things to Do
… Some Places to Go
… Some Family to Love
… Some Friends to Share With
… Some Understanding of the Past
… Some Connection with God
… Some Gifts I Can Give
… Some Difference I can Make
… Some Power in the Present
… Some Hope for the Future
… Some Faith to Carry On
Jo Lyn Cornelsen

Rainbow Garden Artwork by Carol Lorraine

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