For everything there is a time and season. Winter has seemed like an extra long season this year. I am ready for spring. My daffodils are starting to come out of the cold ground and this has warmed my heart. In January our family learned that little Jude has cancer. He is going to be going into round 3 on Friday. He has to have a total of 8 treatments. So hopefully by Halloween he will be done with the treatments and then my brother and his family can relax for the holidays. I think for the first time in my life I am looking forward to spring , summer, and then fall to go by quick because then my little nephew will be on the mend. There have been some very sweet experiences for our whole family during this trial. Cancer is a funny thing, you hate what it does to the physical body, but it has the capabilities to be an unbelievable teacher to a person's spirit. It teaches humility, faith, endurance, and most importantly what great love our Heavenly Father has for each of His children. I have learned how much my older brother Jesus Christ has done for me. I was able to be at the hospital with Jude at the beginning of his treatments. For some reason it ended up being just Clint, Jude, and me in Jude's room. Jude wanted to listen to some music and I had my I pod on hand. We pulled it out and I remembered I had just downloaded the new songs for the Primary program for this year. I told Jude I had a really good song I wanted him to hear. I played, "I Know that My Savior Loves Me." I saw a calm come over him and he relaxed. I have a picture of the album cover on my I pod. It is a drawing of children looking up at the the Christus statue. He loved the picture as well. He listened to the song and stared at the picture for quite sometime. Watching Jude in the hospital listening to the song and looking so intently at the picture of our Savior, reminded me that not only did He pay the price for my sins but He also suffered all the physical pain that I will ever have to suffer. He did it all because He loves me. I have become more grateful of my knowledge that one day we all have perfected bodies because we will live again just like Jesus Christ lives. It will be wonderful for the winter to come back again because it will be the beginning of another season for our family. There will be many more things to be thankful for at Thanksgiving. But for now why does my heart with gladness sing? Only because it's spring.
