Forget not to be Happy--Now!

The end of May we had a Relief Society Salad night at Kawanis Park.  There was a great turn out of girls.  Jessica Maughn, our fearless Relief Society President asked me to give a thought....

Stephanie Nielson is my hero.  I admire her and look up to her, even though I have never met her.

In August 2008 she went with her husband, Christian and his flight instructor in a small aircraft for a “day trip” from Mesa to New Mexico.  When taking off from the airport to return home, they got tangled in some power lines and their plane caught on fire and crashed.  Stephanie and her husband survived the crash.  Christian had burns over 35% of his body.  Stephanie had burns over 83% of her body.  They had 4 young children waiting for them at home ranging in ages from almost 2 to 6.   Stephanie was in a coma for 3 months. She spent 3 more months recovering in the AZ Burn center.  After her accident, Stephanie no longer looked like Stephanie.  She, at first, didn’t feel like her old self.  Physically, she was in a lot of pain.  Eventually, with the persuasion of her family she started blogging again--she was an adamant blogger before the accident and had many followers, but she had lost her drive to continue after the accident.  She now feels responsible to tell and share her story.  Life is still difficult Physically for Stephanie.  If any of you have seen her, you understand when she says, “I am not my body.”  She also has said, “Some days I’m proud of this face. . . other days I think, oh man, I sure miss the old me.”  This experience has strengthened her.

She tells of an experience of while doing the laundry she went to her closet and touched all her clothing and she said she had a wave of emotion come over her.

  “I missed me again.  I mourned for that woman again. I felt that familiar sadness.  But then it was followed by a beautiful spiritual confirmation that this is my new life.  It is good.  It is OH so good.  Then I felt that I should bring home me.  Because it is still me and those clothes still fit.”

She had learned that even though she isn’t attractive to look at, and maybe some would find it difficult to look at her, she is still her.  She sees things differently and she sees life as being more than her physical appearance. She’s grateful to be on the earth.  Her role is more divine.  She is a mother who enriches and teaches the gospel of Jesus Christ and sees her life as a privilege.  She knows that God is in control and will be there every step of the way helping her and giving her strength.  Stephanie knows that God has a plan for her and will help her.  I do not believe that His plan included her being severely burned in a plane crash.  I believe that He allows the consequences to happen according to the decisions we make.  She chose to take that ride in the airplane that day.  Our Heavenly Father chose to keep her alive.  He has given her the strength to know who she is and to know what is really important in life.

 “Spiritually, I have a better sense of who I am, what my divine purpose is, what I’m doing here on earth and why I’m still here.  Life has a different meaning than it did before.”

There is a plan for each of you.  It is a plan that will ultimately give you the greatest joy and happiness you will ever experience.  Our responsibility is to act and go everyday with happiness and peace.  To have faith and trust in God that He will guide our every step.

Stephanie has chosen to stand up and be an example to all women. She has chosen to have gratitude for her life.  She has learned to trust and rely on her Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  She has chosen to try and make a difference in the lives of others.  She has chosen to not sit in her home and mope about the way she looks and feels.  She has chosen to move forward with strength and courage.  She has learned that life is not about your physical appearance, it’s about what you do with your life!  She has found her true Beauty.

Pres. Uchtdorf gave the talk “Forget Me Not” last September and in it he reminded us to “Forget not to be happy NOW”.  He spoke about Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and the golden ticket that everyone hoped to find.  He said, 

“So many people today are waiting for their own golden ticket—the ticket that they believe holds the key to the happiness they have always dreamed about.  For some, the golden ticket may be a perfect marriage; for others, a magazine-cover home or perhaps freedom from stress or worry.There is nothing wrong with righteous yearnings—we hope and seek after things that are “virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy.”  The problem comes when we put our happiness on hold as we wait for some future event—our golden ticket—to appear.”

You girls are in the stage of life where you don’t really know what lies ahead and you know there are big and very important decisions to be made.  It’s easy to look for things we want and forget to see the good things that we have right now. It’s so important that we enjoy the time of life that we are in.  I don’t care how old you are and what stage of life you are in, there are always surprises around the corner.  There are always decisions to be made.  So find joy in the journey and forget not to be Happy NOW.

Pres. Uchtdorf continues: “This is not to say that we should abandon hope or temper our goals. Never stop striving for the best that is within you. Never stop hoping for all of the righteous desires of your heart. But don’t close your eyes and hearts to the simple and elegant beauties of each day’s ordinary moments that make up a rich, well-lived life.The happiest people I know are not those who find their golden ticket; they are those who, while in pursuit of worthy goals, discover and treasure the beauty and sweetness of the everyday moments. They are the ones who, thread by daily thread, weave a tapestry of gratitude and wonder throughout their lives. These are they who are truly happy.”

As I was reading Stephanie Nielson's blog today she wrote last week:

Surgery and change. Here a little and there a little.But still smiling, still blessed and certainly still happy. 

I think she is very disciplined and that is one way she makes sure that she is happy.  She set some new rules for herself:

NO texting, talking, instagraming, playing with or touching my phone while nursing.NO computer work from the hours of 3:30 (when the children come home) to bedtime.NO work after 10:00. That is the time I want to spend with Mr. Nielson. 

A few days before that she blogged:

All I can think about is how blessed I am, how happy I feel,and how grateful I am to be alive, to have a family,to know and feel God's love.

This is why Stephanie Nielson is my hero.  Even though she didn’t find a golden ticket, she makes the best out of what she’s been given.  She has learned to get up every day and face the challenges before her.

She sets a perfect example for her children.  I’m sure she has really bad days and I’m sure she says things to her children that she regrets later and I’m pretty sure she is not perfect—but she is still my hero—someone I can look to and say I can be like that.  I can be happy every day no matter how hard the road gets.

She recently gave birth to her 5^th child.  Something she and her doctors didn’t know if she would be able to do.

Her oldest daughter Claire who would be about 10 wrote a poem about their family.  This is what she said about her new baby sister:

Charlotte is our miracle,
Charlotte is our perfect angel,it must mean Heaven is here.Perfectly clean and pure
she is the 5th pea in the pod,
she is our jewel,she is our heart
she is our miracle.

Her wonderful spirit has shown through her children. 

It’s not your clothes that give you value.  It’s not your pretty face or your lovely hair.  It is what’s in your heart.  It’s how you look at life.  It’s how you treat those around you.  Forget not that God loves you for who you are.  Forget not to be happy NOW.

Just a little side note--present day--I just finished reading Stephanie Nielson's  book Heaven is Here.  I recommend it to EVERYONE!!  Such a great story of courage and faith and hope.