A Blessing of Comfort

 I had an experience today where I was calling a member of our ward to a calling. She came in and I asked how she was doing, and while most people say they're doing fine, she said she was hanging in there. I am not one to pry, but I wanted to not just leave it hanging, so I just asked a few more questions and she told me that it was related to the death of her daughter a few years back. She talked about how her daughter had left the church, how she had made some poor life choices, and how ultimately her heart gave out. While that did affect her sons and husband, they've been able to get over it and she hasn't. She told me that it was all she could do a lot of days to just get out of bed and how she was so grateful that her husband was there to help her out, because she wouldn't make it otherwise.

She said that she was just barely hanging on and that she didn't mean to unload all this on me, but it still felt like the day that her daughter had died with how intense the pain was. While she was talking, I just got the tiniest of nudges - offer to give her a blessing. We talked for a few more minutes and when she had mostly said what she wanted to get off her chest, I told her that I hadn't ever had this prompting before in meeting someone for a calling, but that I felt like I should ask her if she would like a blessing. She seemed shocked, like "you'd do that for me?!" I told her that I would be happy to, and so she said she would love one.

I gave her the blessing and we talked for a few more minutes before I extended a calling. She mentioned that she received some insights that she hadn't before and that she was thankful for the blessing. I made sure to acknowledge the Lord's hand in it and give Him the glory, but also said that I was happy we had the opportunity. She also told me that most callings she would say no to and she came in anticipating that she would do the same today, but in this instance, it was a calling that she could do and that could help her.

While I don't know that this fully solved her problems, I couldn't help but think of the line from my Patriarchal blessing that the time would come that I would raise people from the beds of their affliction, so I should give credit to the Lord. Hopefully it helped!

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