Tree of Life Mothering

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Colorado! After having Thanksgiving in Utah for three years in a year, sometimes with my out-of-the-nest children, some of my siblings, my husband’s mom, and my parents and sometimes not with some of them, because of the stupid plandemic in 2020, I decided it was time for a change. So, we went to Colorado to have Thanksgiving with my husband’s brother and sister, and their families. It was so wonderful! It was full of lots of family time and games (see at the bottom of the post what we played). I didn’t get the above picture book from the public library to read for our Morning Basket time before we left, so I read it aloud on the way home from CO. (I remember the first time years ago I realized I could read aloud to my children in the car while my husband was driving. What a revelation! The voice in the car talking to them doesn’t always have to be from an electronic audiobook.)

This book is so wonderful because it tells the Thanksgiving story in a way we probably haven’t heard, that of the perspective of John Howland. John was on the Mayflower as an indentured servant to William Carver. Some little things happened on the voyage add up to get him to America. First, the fact that the Pilgrims had an extra screw so they could fix the broken beam on their ship on the voyage. Next was the fact that when John was tossed overboard by a huge wave, and almost drowned, some other people happened to be on the deck who saw it happen. So, they threw a rope overboard so he could grab it. See the book cover image above. As John was underwater, drowning, he felt like giving in to the overwhelming desire to close his eyes and fall asleep, in other words, die. Then John heard a voice, sounding like his mother’s, to stay awake and not give in to sleep. Just as he opened his eyes, lightning struck over the water above his head. That flash of lightning allowed him to see the rope that his friends had thrown overboard. He was able to see it well enough to grab it and be pulled overboard. How providential!

President M. Russell Ballard gave a talk about this very incident that I love. You can go here to watch it. The John Howland incident is mentioned at about the 7:25 mark.

Reading this story of John Howland, who happens to be my many-greats grandfather, has caused me to reflect on the hand of God in my life.

Here are some little things lately where I’ve seen the hand of God working in my life:

-When October started this past fall I found myself wanting a new autumn wreath to hang on my door. I kind of have one if I go dig deep in my basement and find the old wire from I have that is heart-shaped from a wedding gift I received years ago, and then wrap leaf garlands all around it. But I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t say anything about this to anyone, and then one morning I awoke to see this beautiful wreath on the dining room table with a loving note from my BYU-attending son. He had made it as an activity for a date and decided to give it to me. I was so thrilled!

-Just last Saturday, after our Thanksgiving stay, as we were sitting in the car in the driveway of the home of my in-laws’ in CO, about to leave, my sister-in-law came out to the side of the car holding up my coat. She asked, “Is this any of yours?” I was so grateful she had found it! My husband had it hanging on the handle of my suitcase, sitting by the door to load to the car. My daughter loaded my suitcase and hung my coat on the coat rack, thinking I would come and get it to wear. My plan had been to get it out of the back of the car much later in the day as it neared nighttime when I’d be a lot colder in the car and when taking bathroom breaks at gas stations. I’m so grateful that my sister-in-law found it and brought it to me! I would have been so cold. We live over 8 hours apart and it would have been a hassle for her to mail it to me.

-For over a year, I prayed that my married daughter would move to live close to us with her husband and my two grandchildren. I never mentioned a word of this to them. My prayer was answered this past summer when they moved to live 25 minutes away from me. Now we can see them often and play with them!

-I decided I wanted some new casual, stylish boots that are more up-to-date than the ones I already have. I know it’s a silly thing. I don’t think I even prayed and asked for them, I just started looking for them when thrifting. Lo and behold, I found some about a month ago. They are perfect! They are a little big but that makes it easy to wear with double or triple layers of socks should I ever want to do that on extra frosty outings. The brown color harmonizes with my tan or navy clothes, and the black soles make them compatible when I wear black pants or skirts. I also found some neutral flats, the loafers in the photo below (I can’t decide if they are pink or beige?) and some cute hot pink shoes!

-When I was having a hard time with a certain person, because of disagreements, God sent me to a store that I frequent about once or twice a month. I had almost gone to the store the night before but decided to delay it to the next day. I went during the noon hour, which I almost delayed again to evening but decided it would be better to go in the middle of the day. I just “happened” to see a friend there who I haven’t seen in over 20 years! The conversation easily flowed to the subject of the trouble I had been having with this person. She gave me some great counsel, which I applied to the relationship. Now the relationship is so much better to the point that this person gave me two birthday presents this past year! I’m so grateful that God led me to this friend and her counsel!

-I had a meeting to attend for a non-profit-organization I’m involved with. The organization has different chapters in the area. Two chapters were having a meeting the same Tuesday night, one at 6:30 and one at 7:30. I really wanted to go to the 7:30 meeting because that’s the one that my close friend attends, but the 6:30 meeting would make it a lot easier for me to take my daughter to tae kwon do lessons and the pick her up. I prayed silently as I went about my business and asked that I would do what’s best. I decided to go to the 6:30 meeting because that would take less time and gas, even though I wouldn’t see my friend. In the end, it turned out that my friend forgot to go to the 7:30 meeting. So then I didn’t feel bad that I missed the 7:30 meeting and went to the 6:30 meeting. Again, it’s a somewhat silly thing, not earth-shattering or life-saving, but it shows that God is mindful of me. If I tune into him, He will bless me even more than He already has.

-As I look over the past 19 years and the few moves my family has made, I think of God’s hand. We moved on the weekend after Thanksgiving to northern Utah in 2004, nineteen years ago. My husband had a new job which prompted the move. We didn’t really want to move 60 miles north, but it ended up being such a blessing for us. We found so many homeschooling resources and friends at our new place which continue to bless our lives today. Years later, in 2013-2015, my husband’s job situation wasn’t so great. We were losing money every month. I felt it was time to move out of state. I kept thinking of the word “Arizona.” I asked my husband about working out of state. He didn’t even want to talk about it. He wanted to stay in Utah. After not getting the 5th or 6th job he applied for in Utah, his co-worker told him, “Have you ever thought of looking for a job out-of-state, like in Arizona?” That was the help I needed! God was moving in my life to open husband’s eyes to what he needed to see for our family to move forward.

-My husband’s parents have both passed away now. My mother-in-law’s seven brothers have all passed away. Two of her sisters-in-law are still alive. One of the sisters-in-law is also my husband’s cousin, Aunt Jan. That’s because my father-in-law is her uncle. In other words, an uncle and a niece married people who are siblings to each other. Confusing, I know! Anyway, I’ve been thinking of how wonderful it would be to have a night where we could hear family history stories from Cousin/Aunt Jan. I didn’t even express this desire to anyone, not even God, I’ve just been thinking about it for months. A few weeks ago I got a text from my husband saying that we had been invited to an evening of food and storytelling with Aunt Jan. We had it just last night and it was so wonderful! Cousin/Aunt Jan is myhusband’s oldest living cousin. As a child she lived with my father-in-law for the first six years of her life. They were like brother and sister since they are only 10 months apart in age. It was so fun to hear her memories of my father-in-law and his parents, my husband’s grandparents, especially since he has no memories of his Grandpa Clarence and very few of his Grandma Esther.

I know that God loves each of us. I know He provides for each of us in His own way, in His own time. I challenge you to look for the little happenings in your life to see the order and the connection back to God. Then write down how you see God providing for you and go back and read about God’s provisions often. You will be more joyful because of it!