This amazing place that I live...
If you have been to my home, you may recognize my neighborhood in this news story. The home being shown where the accident occurred is three houses away from us to our right. It belongs to our bishop. The grandmother is my next-door neighbor. The little granddaughter? I see her playing all of the time at her grandmother's house. She is such a sweet little girl, always smiling and greeting me when I come outside. My neighbor is a very loving grandma. She adores these children. Her yard is decorated to the hilt always, for every season, every holiday. I believe it is for the children. The kids in the neighborhood love to come by and see what she has out, as well. She is always going around helping others. She is amazing at taking care of her yard. It is gorgeous...perfect. I am embarrassed to live next to her with our troublesome sprinkler system and dry spots in our grass! She goes around mowing lawns for people who are ill, or out of town. This is exactly what she was doing on Monday for our good bishop and his family as they were on vacation.
I saw so many miracles that afternoon. So many tender mercies from a loving God. People who were right there, in the right place, who had the first aid skills required to do what they did, one who was so very strong for someone so young. She was amazing in her ability to think on her feet and give the help and comfort that she did. There were men working on my roof, installing solar panels. they heard and saw what was happening and without hesitating were off the roof and across the street, giving help and comfort to total strangers. When I arrived they were comforting the older sisters who were beside themselves with fear, and had offered a canvas drop cloth for shielding tender eyes from an awful scene. There was our wonderful across-the-street friend who ran to get the first responders who initially went to the wrong house around the corner. He helped two of us try to calm and comfort our good neighbor as she was living through anyone's worst nightmare. After the ambulance left, he stayed with us in our neighbor's garage as two other neighbors took her to the hospital. He called us to prayer. There we stood in her garage, five friends united by faith. The first of many, many prayers that are now being said throughout our neighborhood. He was a miracle in and of himself. After the police and fire squads left, cleaning up what they did, he stayed in the bishop's yard for an hour, making sure there was no trace left behind. He took care of the mower and hid it away. He spoke to the press as they arrived very soon afterward and asked them to not bother our dear neighbor Thankfully they respected that request.
Life is full of joy and sorrow, pleasures and pain, good and bad. If it weren't, it wouldn't be much of a life. The sorrows help us understand how great the joys truly are. They help us appreciate our many blessings. This knowledge may not be much of a comfort when we are asked to pass through something like this. I only know that through faith and prayer, and because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ who bore all of our grief and pain in Gethsemane, we can eventually overcome every trial, every sorrow, every pain. I am so grateful to live in this neighborhood full of such Christ-like people. They amaze me. I am humbled.
Please pray for our dear neighbor and for her little granddaughter and her family. They need every prayer so desperately right now. There is much love for them all.
I just discovered this link on Facebook. Give if you can!
2 comments:
I am so heartbroken for her. She is such a dear woman. We are definitely keeping her family in our prayers.
I am sad that I am just now saw this news clip and read about this. I sure hope your neighbor is doing ok and that her granddaughter is recovering. I will keep them in our prayers.
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