Two Good Friends - Now Heavenly Angels

 When I was serving as an Ordinance Worker in the Los Angeles Temple, I became good friends with a couple of sisters that I carpooled with very early on Wednesday mornings to the temple. I had lived in the same ward with Paula Thorsen at one time, so I already knew her fairly well, but I didn't know Carol Whitaker well at all. What a pleasure it was to get to know and love both of these sisters as we served together in the temple.

Last year, I received a phone call from Carol informing me that she had cancer. I was saddened by this news. Of all the people I know, it seemed that she had suffered the most trials of anyone. A couple of years before she started working in the temple, her husband took his own life. She has three sons, and two of them had tried to take their own lives as well. Neither were successful. Tragedy struck the family when her daughter-in-law, married to her 2nd son, was smoking in the garage and fell asleep and started the house on fire. The whole family - Carol's son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter passed away. This left Carol, unsurprisingly, shaken up, but she managed to carry on and her faith in Jesus Christ did not waver. Now, to add cancer onto her plate, just seemed too much for one to bear. I was able to speak to her periodically by phone to see how she was doing. She told me how much weight she had lost and I was worried for her life.

She was born on November 9, 1950 - the exact same day & year as my sister Janice. As Carol's birthday approached, I kept getting the prompting to call her and see how she was doing. I kept putting it off because I wanted to call her on her birthday, not before. We should always listen to those promptings, because Carol passed away two days before her birthday. I had missed a chance to have one last conversation with her. I so regret not following through with those promptings.

Alan and I were able to attend Carol's funeral in Lancaster, and it was a lovely service. She is a special friend and I wanted to be there for her. I'm so happy that through her passing through the veil, Carol was able to be reunited with her family members who passed away before her. I can picture her picking up her sweet granddaughter and swinging her around in the air. 

Being able to return to Lancaster was interesting after having lived in Utah for over 1.5 years. It was nice to be able to see friends from the Lancaster Stake again. Of course, we had to drive past our old home to see how it looked. I couldn't believe the changes that had taken place. It kind of looked like a fortress now, with electric gates blocking the entrance to the driveways. An aerial view of the property allowed us to see that changes had taken place in the back yard as well. The improvements were many and looked great.

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Now, as for my friend Paula. She and I had one big thing in common - we both have an identical twin sister. Oh, how we loved talking about our twin sisters as we drove to and from the temple. Paula's twin, Pam, passed away a couple of years ago. How thrilling it must have been for them to be reunited once again. Knowing how much twins love each other, I'm grateful that they are together again.

I found out about Paula's passing on Facebook. The post, from her niece, said that her Aunt Paula had passed away suddenly. Of course, I needed to find out what happened, so I reached out to Heidi Porter who knew the details because Paula's husband, Fred, had called Heidi's husband and told him the story. Here's what happened:

Towards the end of November Paula fell outside while checking on some Christmas lights that the boys in the ward put up for them. She was making sure they were all plugged in properly. Since her fall, she had been suffering with a lot of pain and was waiting for x-ray results. She was trying to sleep in a chair through that time because she couldn't lie down. Paula was Fred's caretaker, but now the roles were reversed and he was trying to take care of her. He was helping take her to the bathroom, but she twisted her body in a way injuring herself more. She fell face down on the floor. The pain must have been unbearable. An ambulance was called, but she didn't even make it to the hospital before passing away.

This is such a tragic story. A freak accident took her life. I don't know who will take care of her husband, Fred, now. Their only child, a daughter, lives in Ohio with her daughter who is about 10 years old, I think.

I wasn't able to attend Paula's funeral, although I wanted to be there. I was able to watch it on Zoom, which was nice. Her funeral was held on Monday, January 9th. 

Paula gifted me all of the Lladro pieces I have on display in our sitting room cabinet. They were given to her by a woman that Paula did interior decorating for. Paula knew I loved Lladro and it really wasn't her style, so she gave them to me - even the Nativity in the upper-left corner.

I cherish these pieces from Paula. They now hold an even more special place in my heart. She was a talented artist/interior decorator and many people were able to enjoy the blessings of her talents.

Two good friends - gone, but not forgotten. Each friendship has enriched my life and I will miss them both. However, I'm very happy for them - that they have graduated from the earthly portion of their lives. Some upcoming day, who knows when, I, too, will graduate from this earthly experience. Until then, I will try to live my best life and look forward to my own reunion with family members who have passed.

Sick of Being Sick

I'm trying to remain optimistic, but I believe that I have been sick more than I've been well since the middle of November. Here is a list of my medical issues and illnesses: 

November 11 - UTI

November 26 - Contracted Bronchitis

December 11th - Another UTI

December 24th - Contracted Bronchitis a second time

December 27th - Another UTI

January 5 - Injection in right knee for knee pain (possible bursitis)

January 12 - Tested positive for Covid

That's a lot of illness to recover from in just a few weeks time. Alan tested positive for Covid the day after I did, so we both need to stay isolated for the time being. We don't want to pass it on to anyone else.

I was beginning to think that we were going to skate by and never get covid, but that wasn't meant to be. We were lucky to have gone this long without getting it. It seems that most everyone we know has had it at least once. Fortunately, neither of us is extremely sick. We are having flu/cold-like symptoms and, thankfully, we haven't lost our sense of smell or taste.

Being sick so much has interfered with my church calling. I teach the 11-12 year old Sunday School class and I've only been able to teach once in the past 7 weeks. I feel bad for my team teacher who has had to pick up the slack for me. Alan did teach once for me in early December, however.

I'm hoping that my bout with illnesses is coming to an end. It is definitely no fun to be sick all the time.  When we go through a series of trials like this, I believe that the Lord is trying to teach us something. Patience and longsuffering come to my mind.

 On New Years Eve, as I lay in bed coughing for 3 hours straight when I had bronchitis, I was praying constantly for healing. I thought I couldn't take the coughing a minute longer. My chest was so congested that it felt like I was breathing through a straw and I was coughing so hard that I was almost throwing up, but the trial wasn't taken away from me. What I was given instead was the ability to endure through the episode (this was just one of many). I knew that the Lord knew what I was going through. He had suffered every pain, every illness, every sorrow, every heartache, every sin, etc. that any man has had to endure on this earth. He knew how I felt. One good thing about trials is that it can bring us closer to Christ. He was there beside me the whole time. He did not leave me comfortless. He gave me the wisdom to know that I could get through it and come out better for it. There are so many people who have had to suffer so much more than I have. How can I complain?

When we suffer illness, it makes us more fully appreciate our days of good health. I want to go forward rejoicing in every day that I'm not ill. 

Here's to a happy, healthy New Year!