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With a prayer in my heart for understanding, and with some timidity, I speak today concerning parents and children with special problems. I do so because I am persuaded that these extraordinary challenges are, as the Savior Himself said, that "the works of God should be ... manifest." I was praying and praying for some guidance on who could help us with Cameron after school, and kept praying, "Heavenly Father, who can I ask? Who can help me? Who would I be able to trust?" Because she's so important to me, I don't just pull people off the street and say, "Here, watch my daughter for a second." That's just not something I do. I really have to be able to trust people around her. And so that was something I was deep in thought and prayer about. I was really worried.
To have something that was so invisible outside--to be able to explain to somebody that this is a real thing and if she doesn't have these tools in place, we can't make it at home. We won't be able to bring her to church if we don't have the support she needs at church.
I got a call one day, out of the blue, from a member of our ward who said, "You know, I've had this weird feeling just to call you to see what I can do for you." And I took that as a total answer to prayers. And I said, "Well, actually, I'm looking for someone to watch Cameron after school for just a couple hours a couple times a week. Would you be interested?" And she goes, "Absolutely. Let me come, and you can train me and teach me." And that worked out fantastically. I could not have had a more direct answer to prayers. Her Sunbeam teacher, I talked to her about RAD, and I explained what it was. And she immediately said, "I want all of your books. You obviously need help. What do you need?" And she ended up reading my books, and she ended up learning enough that she could take Mariah for a day.
There's actually a hymn. It's "Lord, I Would Follow Thee." The line that says, "In the quiet heart is hidden [sorrows] that the eye can't see." And I don't know--maybe it's because it reminds me that Heavenly Father and my Savior can see. They know my heart, and They know Mariah's heart.
And They know. But also I think it helps me to know that everyone sitting in that congregation has some sorrow that I don't know about, that isn't obvious. They look all put together, and of course their family's perfect. And to know we're all here together, and I probably would not trade my trial for theirs--even though I don't know what theirs is--that line has really been an anchor to me. How these challenges are met can often be the expression of the very essence of the gospel of Christ. [MUSIC PLAYING]