Wondrously

So, Corey had an important demo today. He was nervous and worried about it going well and about the project continuing. I have pretty much tried to keep my "worrying about Corey's work" button turned to off for the past few years. Today I tried to keep the worry part out of the equation as I prayed in earnest for his happiness and success in his career and I fasted for him and asked my parents and siblings to keep him in their prayers. The demo was at 4:00. I thought it would help if I went to the temple. I haven't done a endowment session since May the week before Katharine was born. I've been to do initiatories but not a session. But right now with Mel home, I felt I could go, so Ethan and I went to the Jordan River Temple to the 4:00 session. We were asked to be the witness couple which was really cool! (And it never hurts that being the witness couple allows you to stand up and kinda wake up during the session!) so this ended up being one of the best experiences I've ever had at the temple because I stayed awake during almost all of it (had a few fading out moments) and I was thinking about the word "endowment" - I just looked up some of the synonyms and the one I thought of is there - GIFT. More searching - here's an even better description of it: LARGE gift! Legacy! Inheritance! Or some of the nouns there - Power, strength, capacity... It is our gift from God - Our life here on earth helps us learn to be like him. So it was a great session, and afterwards in the celestial room I was looking for a triple combination but only saw the Bible, so I picked it up, opened it randomly and read the book of Joel. It brought me to tears - going back to thinking of Corey, his work, his efforts to provide for our large family (which always feels a bit more heavy at Christmas time with 13 kids to try to get gifts for) and I know Corey worries about not just the day to day expenses but of retirement and the future - and I loved loved Joel, especially chapter 2 - 

21 ¶ Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.

22 Be not afraid, ye ^abeasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.

23 Be glad then, ye children of ^aZion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the ^brain, the former rain, and the ^clatter rain in the first month.

24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the ^afats shall overflow with wine and oil.

25 And I will ^arestore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.

26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ^aashamed.

27 And ye shall know that I am in the ^amidst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.

I trust that the Lord will provide for us, and that he will send forth much rain, that he will restore to us the years that the caterpillars ate. And even considering our past lean years of famine, God has dealt WONDROUSLY with us. Fear not! Be glad and rejoice! I know that the Lord will do great things.