Blessings and a Broken Head (Literally)

Please note the "I bleed true blue" shirt he is wearing :)

Last weekend I had an unexpected surprise.  On Friday evening while we were in the middle of a lesson, my companion Elder Fallentine mentioned that my Mom was messaging him on facebook.  I was a little confused at why she was messaging him until I heard the message, that my brother was currently in the emergency room here in Provo and my Mom was asking if I would be allowed to go and give him a blessing.  I was informed he had fractured his frontal lobe, but was ok.  With that little information my imagination did begin to wander very much.  What exactly does ok mean?  And how is it ok with a broken head?  Is ok simply that he isn’t dead, or he is conscious?  Or does ok also include significant brain damage?  And at the front of my mind, I needed to find out if I would be able to go and see him and give him the priesthood blessing, which I was.

In an effort to keep ourselves focused on serving the Lord, correspondence with our family is usually limited.  Although this is not the first time I have seen my brother, (as you can read here, Teaching Experiences with Cassia) I was blessed to go and see him in the hospital and I was able to give him a priesthood blessing.   He is recovering well, and many of the worries I had have been alleviated.  While the real purpose of going to see my brother was to bless and help him, I feel I was the one who was blessed the most.

It is a blessing to see the friends also there for support!

I was firstly blessed to have the opportunity to give my brother the blessing.  In the time from me getting the message to the time it took me to go and visit my brother I remember a lot of anxiety and stress.  I am very grateful I was allowed to go as being able to see him briefly helped to answer many of the questions I had and I was able to see that he really was ok.  I know the priesthood blessings do help us to bring the powers of heaven, and I know they are a great help in times of need.  A priesthood blessing is such as we read of in the in Bible; “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” (James 5: 14-15)  The priesthood blessings are a way for us to intercede in behalf of those we are injured and to bless them.  I love this short video which talks about the blessings of the priesthood; Blessings of the Priesthood.  But this blessing was only a small part of what made the biggest impact on me.

One thing I had not anticipated was a look in the past and a clearer understanding of the faith my brother had shown during his mission.  I was able to see a little of the position he often in during his service.  My brother served a mission for the church just as I have in Sao Paulo in Brazil.  While he was serving there I underwent much of the cancer treatments, and had many complications.  Unlike the other evening, Brazil is very far from Colorado and my brother was not able to be there for me as I was for him when he was injured.  As I think about the anxieties and doubts I have had, it made me realize my brother had probably experienced situations like this many times.  I wonder how often we gave him an incomplete story and how often he was left to wonder, and unsure of what would happen.  I am touched that despite the things which did happen he was steady in his commitment to Jesus Christ.  The experience I had helped me to better realize the faith it takes to move on despite the challenges which can come to us.  I know that the only way we can move on is for us to put our trust in Jesus Christ, as my brother was able to do.  As I was sick with pneumonia, or as I had a relapse, he was there in Brazil.  I know the service he gave has blessed me as I had the trials I did.  I know his example of relying on Jesus Christ can be an example for all of us with the trials we have.  We all have doubts and uncertainties for the future.   As we read in the Book of Mormon, “Faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.” (Ether 12: 6) We don’t always see at first, and we don’t always know what the future holds.  But, for those who do trust in Christ, we can know that these things can work for our good.