To make a longer story short, we are in the hospital because when we went in to get Chirsti's broken femur re-plated and casted (the first plate and screws didn't hold) they found that her blood levels of phosphate were dangerously low. This had caused her bones to be week and not heal, and for her to have kidney stones from all the Calcium that was being pushed into her urine instead of being used to build bone. They put her on massive doses of phosphorus and Calcium to try to build her back up to normal levels. Her body was using it almost faster than they could get it in her though, and they were constantly chasing those levels, in what they called a rare case of "hungry bone syndrome." After two and a half weeks now her levels have stabilized, and they are starting to talk about sending her home this week. In the mean time, her femur broke again (while inside the cast) and we discovered two broken ribs and a broken clavicle as well. One of us has been staying with her around the clock (mostly me because my sweet wife has so much trouble sleeping in the hospital) so we will be excited to sleep in our own beds and be together as a family again soon.
In the midst of all of this, one of our comforts has been the Ronald McDonald room at Primary Children's Hospital. They may not be the best at burgers, but my hat will always be off to them for the compassion of these rooms. There parents and family members there at the hospital can do laundry, take a shower, reserve a room for a nap or overnight stay, and, best of all, come together for a hot meal put on by families and businesses in the community. Getting together with other parents and talking about our situations has been such a great blessing to us. We have talked about the gospel, about life, about doctors, nurses, and hospitals, and in all just generally about the soul. I have watched a blind mother sit in silence as she worries about the health of her newborn baby. I have listened to her express her faith in "things which are not seen but are true. I have visited with a woman so full of tattoos and piercings that it is genuinely and profoundly distracting from who she really is. We talked about judgement, kindness, about how the bullying of her son has potentially contributed to his medical condition, and about prayer. There is healing in togetherness.
I've noticed that people seem to blossom out of the cacoon of their own situation and problems as they interact, share, and speak with others. The callous caused by the impact of their struggles falls away softly and beautiful souls emerge. I think this is what Church is meant to be like in a way too. The Lord commands in the opening verse of the first section of the Doctrine nad Covenants that His Church "listen together." Interestingly, the Lord doesn't say "talk together," but rather, "listen."
Elder Bednar, speaking of ward councils in a training in 2010, said, "I think we have the mistaken notion that every element of revelation coming to the ward has to come through the bishop. By virtue of his keys, he has to acknowledge it and affirm it, but he doesn’t necessarily have to be the only vehicle through whom it comes. So in that council, as you have that spirit of unity and act under the influence of the Spirit, the contributions of all of the council members add elements to the inspiration. So the council doesn't decide...It is an inspired pattern that the bishop, by virtue of the keys, has to direct. But he doesn't have to receive every jot and tittle of the revelation." "Revelation is scattered among us" Elder Anderson also taught. I know it might be a stretch of these principles, but I feel like the Lord speaks best to us often when we speak with each other - or more specifically as we listen.
So there I was sitting in Church today feeling burdened with financial matters, with Chirsti's health, with deadlines and difficulties. Gratefully I was rescued from my low state by a simple prompting. The message was this "listen to people. Get to know the people in your ward one at a time. Find out who they really are, and the beautiful things that are hidden within them." Although the inspiration came right at the end of the third hour of our meetings I immediately had two different ward members to listen to. One told me of his younger brothers, one waiting for a kidney, and the other diagnosed with cancer and being worn down from long sufferings with chemotherapy. He also mentioned that he is a twin and shares what he believes to be a special spiritual bond with his twin. Then another sister approached me and told me about her brother, 18 months her junior, who suffers with cerebral palsy similarly to Christi. I know (from facebook) that this good sister has had trouble having children and they recently had hoped to have adopted a baby from Arizona, but it fell through. I felt immediately lifted and liberated from my burdens as I listened, but more than that I felt a sacred type of kinship with these my brothers and sisters. I am humbled, and having emerged a bit from my shell, I'm very excited about the opportunities I have to "listen together." I'm sure what I heard in their voices today was nothing less than the great sustaining comfort of the very Spirit of God. I couldn't help but wonder how to best express that to people wondering why they should go to the trouble of getting ready for and attending Church meetings. I'm going to try :)
