Trials and blessings

Lately I have been spending a lot of time with my friends and neighbors, the Warners. We have been friends for many years now and our boys are almost always either here or there. We spend every Christmas morning with them and lots of holidays in between. Not to mention birthdays and just for fun. We have gone camping together, taken short vacations together. Terri and I have laughed together, cried together, prayed together, yelled at our boys and loved our boys together. They are my other family and I love them. We have been brought together lately due to something that none of us expected. LB has cancer. Stage 4. It all seemed to happen so fast but I'm sure the cancer has been in his body for a long time. Every day brings him closer and closer to our Heavenly Father. Every day we think it might be the last time we will see him. It is a sad time for Terri and Josh and all who love them. And yet, through the sadness we have seen such an out pouring of love from our little community. Almost every church has them on their prayer rolls. Many have brought food and different pastors have come by to pray with them. The sisters in my ward have signed up to bring them dinner every night for two weeks. The blessings keep rolling in.

I have seen such a peace in LB, and Terri has such strength. They are both an inspiration to me and I hope that when trials come my way I can handle them as well as they have. They have such a love for one another and that love seems to pour over to everyone who needs a friend.

LB and I haven't always seen eye to eye on things and I'm sure there have been times when he wanted to bob me over the head. I know I've wanted to pop him a time or two but the love and the friendship has always been there. Today, for the first time I told him I loved him. And I wondered why I waited so long. He has been a constant father figure to Randy and has taught him so much. For that alone I should have told him years ago that I loved and appreciated him. I knew once I opened my mouth that the tears would come....and they did. I couldn't seem to find the right words to say what I was really feeling. I hope "I love you" was enough