Missionaries, Cakes with Chili Peppers, and Finding a Better Way

John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

I had an experience this summer with the Holy Ghost helping me to remember something.

There was a weekend in June that it hit me.  It hit me HARD.  Tanner graduated from High School, Seminary, and earned his Eagle Scout- all in one week- and I realized that my boy was leaving me in a few short months.  He was leaving for two years and I was REALLY going to miss him.  

You should know that I am not a very emotional person - that's Brent role in our home.

But suddenly I became VERY emotional at the thought of 

not talking to 

or seeing 

or smelling 

0r laughing at

 or wrapping my arms around my son.  

The more I thought about it, the more I couldn't help but get teary eyed every time I was around him.

And then I realized that my sadness was transferring to him.  Tanner, who has always been so excited to serve a mission, was witnessing my sadness at his leaving and was getting melancholy about it too.

Then one day a thought came into my mind: "Your going about this all wrong."

I think it was a prompting actually.

I knew exactly what was meant.  

It was the way I was sending Tanner off.  The problem was, I wasn't sure how else to do it.  I was so overcome with sadness at the thought of his absence from our home.

That is when I felt the Holy Ghost helped me remember something that I honestly had not thought of for about 8 years.  I had a vivid memory of a friend of mine who was so excited about a cake she had purchased for her son's missionary farewell.  He was leaving that very week to go start a mission to Chile.  She had asked the bakery to decorate a cake with little chili peppers all over it.  As she showed it to me, she just radiated happiness and excitement.  I remember her telling me how wonderful it all was and how happy she was that her son had decided to serve a mission.  This very spiritually mature mother - someone I still look up to- could see beyond the sadness of her boy leaving her for two years.  Instead, she focused on what a growing experience she knew it would be for him and the lives he would change as he served.  

As this memory was brought back to my mind, I felt like I got my answer as clear as a bell.  I needed to follow Karen's example and take "SADNESS" completely out of my vocabulary and replace it with EXCITEMENT for this game changing opportunity.  Every time I started feeling the least bit sad, I would go back to that memory of Karen sending off her son.  

It was a better way.

We are told in John 14 that one of the roles of the Holy Ghost is to bring to a remembrance the things that will teach us.  

I'm so grateful for that experience, the Holy Ghost, and for the example of  Karen.

It made it so much easier to send Tanner off into the mission field and so much easier for him to go.  Part of the reason I think his transition has been so smooth is because of that prompting that day and Karen showing me a better way.