Ron's 1 year mark was in July (the 26th of July) since his accident happened. He is doing great, he had his hip replaced at the beginning of this month, Sept. 2, 2015. His first hip surgery just didn't make his walking any easier. It did help with movement as Dr. Hilliard had predetermined. Ron didn't improve much so he decided he was ready for a hip replacement. That went very well and Ron is working hard in physical therapy and is having a quick recovery. His attitude is as great as ever. I feel so blessed to be around him. He is amazing! He has changed his life dramatically since his accident. He has no desire to smoke, to partake of substances, or even participate in anything he would have called his "vices" that he struggled with his entire life. He just wants to be clean and live a clean life.
I am taking a religion class through BYU-I, and was given the opportunity to post a blog about what I learned this week in my studies of the Book of Mormon. In 1 Nephi 1:1, Nephi states that he was "highly favored of the Lord," and that he had "seen many afflictions," as well as had gained "knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God."
I can't but think of the afflictions that everyone experiences. I am not alone in my trials. No one is exempt from trials in life. In D&C 122:7-8 Joseph Smith was in Carthage Jail before he was assassinated. He had suffered many afflictions and was told by the Lord "if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; [if] the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good." Applying that scripture to my own life, helps me to understand that trials are given to us so that we can grow. During one of my worse trials in my life I had never prayed so much. Trying to understand why this certain trial I was enduring had to be so difficult. As I ponder the words of Nephi "having seen many afflictions in the course of my days," I am comforted to know that we are given certain trials and afflictions to be tested, and to be put through a "refiners fire". As we endure and turn to God, we gain knowledge and see the goodness that comes from Him, as stated by Nephi. We will learn more about the mysteries of God through being submissive to God's will.
I watch my brother Ron suffer in pain, living in a long-term care facility with the elderly, many who have no quality of life. Ron is amazing, and he is enduring his trials with grace and humility. He is cheerful (except when he is in pain, and it takes an hour from the time he presses the nurses call light to get some pain relief!), he is child-like and humble. I get to be around him and I feel so blessed to learn from all that he has endured. I don't know that I can shout "bring on the trials", I can say that I change during my difficulties, and I fall to my knees asking for help to endure. I hope one day I will be highly favored of the Lord, by enduring my afflictions well.
