Tender Mercies

In 1985, my sister Kris, died. We were living in St.George, and a short time later, we received word that the daughter of some dear friends of ours back in Vernal had suffered a serious illness, similar to the one that took Kris. At that time, Aspen, Vince and Annie were very young. I told them that we needed to pray for a sick little girl back in Vernal. They remembered her every night in their prayers. It was a simple petition..."Heavenly, Father, please bless Rachel Pinkham."

Soon after, I talked to a friend from Vernal who told us that the prognosis for Rachel was very bleak; that if she lived, she would be a "vegetable" for the rest of her life.

I was worried that my small children might be confused with this answer to their prayers, (for the second time) so I decided to quit reminding them to pray for Rachel. I reasoned that eventually they would forget.

But they didn't forget. Night after night, as I listened to their prayers at bedtime, they included the simple petition "...please bless Rachel Pinkham". I struggled to know what to say to them and settled on saying nothing. When we moved back to Vernal, I was grateful that we were in a different ward than the Pinkhams because the prayers were still coming.

Amazingly, Rachel did not die. But her recovery was slow and only partial; she was left with limited vision and walked with a very pronounced limp.

The illness did not, however, damage her spirit. When she walked into a room, her positive, joyful nature would create a very real light. I loved her smile.

When Rachel graduated from high school, I wrote her a letter and told her of the experience my three children had in helping to "pray her well." I was grateful that their faith had been stronger than mine.

Tonight, I was reminded of that expereince once again, in a very unexpected, wonderful way.

Ten days ago, Mike's mother was placed in the care center. Being her legal guardian, this was the hardest decision of Mike's life. Mine, too. I wasn't ready. I'm still not doing too well. Last week, I forgot my dad's birthday. Today, I realized that I had forgotten Kylie's birthday, too and had to settle for sending a card, instead of a present. I don't do things like that. Never.

Visits to the care center have been very hard. Until tonight. When we walked in, we saw Mother in a large room with several of the other residents. They were gathered together singing old time favorite songs, led by a care center staff member... who just happened to be Rachel Pinkham. She is still making rooms light up with her sparkly spirit. What touched me most was the sweet, respectful way she said, "Thank-you, Miss Venna!" as she collected music after the singing time.

I left the care center with a light heart...the first time in ten days.

And, on the drive home, an amazing thought came to me. "My children prayed Rachel well! And now Rachel is blessing us in ways that only Heavenly Father could have known would happen all those years ago!" Tender mercies.