Gaining Our Balance

The following was told me by a friend, which I shall put into my own words:

"I tended to be wayward in my early years and as a young man in high school, I one day walked in on a conversation that my Mom and Dad were having. It seems that the doctor had discovered a large tumor behind my mother's ear that was affecting her balance. The bishop of our ward was called for and he and his companion gave her a healing blessing, contingent upon my behavior.

As the bishop left, he put his large hands upon my shoulder and said, "I guess you know that the blessing was not just about your Mom but also about you." I thought about that quite a bit. Within a few days, Mother was no longer able to walk or stand because the tumor had grown so large.

We all fasted and prayed that she would be better. She was a school teacher and had to be given a leave of absence until her condition improved. The doctors scheduled surgery and I watched as the ambulance workers carried her away from our home in a stretcher. I loved my mother dearly; she was a big part of my life. I went into my basement room and talked, really talked to God, confessing my sins and pleaded for her quick recovery. This went on for some time.

I had just finished my prayer when I heard someone come into the house upstairs. My first thoughts were of a robber break-in, for no one was due home for awhile. As I gingerly came into the kitchen, I saw my mother standing on the floor, staring at me. She spoke in a quivering voice.

"The doctors could find no trace of any tumors, so they sent me home." We embraced and cried together. Since that time there have been times when diversions from the strait and narrow path have caused me to stray, but in large measure I do my utmost to repent quickly. God answers prayers.


We Need a Miracle

A friend told me the following, which I put into my own words:

My wife and I have always enjoyed sponsoring Japanese foreign exchange students. This has gone on for many years. One year we volunteered our time for 103 such young people. They were pledged to different families for about three months and then it was time for their return home to Japan. 75 left for their homeward journey routinely, however, the last group of 28 were not as fortunate.

As we approached the airlines ticket counter, early in the morning, the person in charge, checked our tickets and said, that the flight had left the day before. Somehow, the dates we had received were wrong and we were suddenly faced with a huge problem. We attempted to reschedule. We were informed this was impossible unless we purchased new tickets at $2400.00 each or a little under $100,000.00.

Of course this was completely out of the question. We began to explore other possibilities. Could we get discount tickets, could we buy them at a reduced rate through Japan agents, could we get help from the managers and even general managers of the airline? All these options were turned down. We were on the verge of panic.

By then it was late afternoon and still there seemed no way we could remedy the situation. Fortunately, there was one among our group who had the good sense to say, "Why don't we ask for a miracle from God? After staring at each other for a second or two, we found an unused empty room and kneeled down together and pleaded:

"Please, Heavenly Father, we need a miracle and we need it now. Thou knowest that we all have the faith that Thou canst do all things. Please soften the hearts of those in authority so that we may send these young people home to their families."

Each of us prayed in turn and poured out our hearts to Him that knows all things. We had our cell phones off while we prayed. When we were done we turned our phones back on and one of our group had a message to call the airlines. They informed us that:

All tickets would be paid for by the airlines. They even waved the $100.00 per ticket change fee and not long after, all 28 students were on their way home again. God answers sincere prayers and will lead us if we have the faith to ask and follow.