Although we all go through different experiences and trials and we all live in different circumstances we are all living on the same world with chaos going on all around us just trying to do our best.  We really are all in this together, or at least we should be. 

It can be easy to get caught up in our own little worlds, with our own troubles, and our own agendas.  It is easy to only see the long list of to-dos that we have or the sometimes blinding trials, whether big or small.  At least it is for me.  But in one way or another I am always reminded of how much we all really need each other. 

I recently randomly fell upon a post of someone who had just had a house full of kiddos with a stomach bug that just wouldn't go away.  She too was hit with the yuck and thus her home had become a bit of a mess.  When finally the sickness seemed to be leaving them and she was ready to tackle her neglected house she had a feeling that there was someone who needed her that day. She felt like she was supposed to make someone dinner that very night and she was directed to who it was to be.  Her house was left for another day and someone who needed it was blessed that night with a nice dinner.  (You can read the whole post here.)  But sometimes for me it is all too easy to direct my attention back at my own struggles and push those promptings aside.

A day or two after reading this post I read a post by one of my roommates from college.  She wrote about how one of her best friends had just found out that her 5 year old son has cancer.  My roommate currently lives in Australia and her good friend in Utah.  Through some amazing promptings and a very long flight she was able to come home to be with her friend during this difficult time.  (You can read the whole post here.)

And here is where my connection comes in.  As I followed the link in that post to her friend's blog that details the journey of this last month's battle with cancer I was struck with great emotion. She took her 5 year old son to the doctor on the very day that I took my 6 year old to the doctor.  She headed to the hospital for blood tests and a CT scan that very day, as did we.  The following day I received news that our son did not have a brain tumor and she heard the devastating news that her son did have cancer.  As I read these similarities and thought about how her situation could so easily have been ours I couldn't help but feel a connection with their family.  While we were feeling relief, they were feeling heartache.  I prayed for them, I cried for them, and I felt that the least I could do was to donate a little bit in their behalf. If you are willing you can head here and donate, even $5 will help them along their way. :)

Behind closed doors and inside hearts everyone has something that wears at them. Sometimes big and sometimes small.  Sometimes it is for a moment and sometimes it is for a lifetime.  My hope is that we will look beyond ourselves and see that we need each other. That we will see that in the walls of each and every home and in the chambers of each individuals heart their is a need for love, compassion, understanding, and the following of promptings of the Holy Ghost.  Let us pray for, see, and act on the promptings that will allow us to be the person that someone else is longing for.
Continue reading at the original source →