The Periodic Table of Elements & Divine Signatures

Three weeks ago I started another chapter of my life.  Its been 15 years since I’ve taken courses at Boise State University and its time to go back.  I never did plan on having a career; raising kids has been my paramount plan.  So, in 2011- for me, a year of service as the Relief Society president in my ward in Cleveland, as I did God's work, I couldn’t deny the strong feelings I had that I needed to prepare for a career.  Then we moved to Cincinnati for Jake to go to school and I felt so good about going back to work.  I did, and I loved my “job”.   Fast forward to living in Boise and working for a dentist, I realized it was just that…a job.  And the more I thought about my feelings in Cleveland, I recalled that the feeling I felt was of “preparing for a career.”  The job I had was not a career.

As these thoughts culminated my husband Jake, took on full time employment with Bronco Athletic association at Boise State.  With his new employee benefits, I had the opportunity to go to school for really low costs.  I quit my job this summer and started math online.  Then, with my kids, we started school.

I am choosing to get an education and the classes I’m taking are challenging.  And I have felt overwhelmed a lot.  And I also feel so happy and excited.  I have missed learning!  My anatomy and physiology class has so much information and I really work at it day by day, not knowing how its all going to work out.

My first anatomy & physiology test is this Friday.  Its going to be hard.  It covers a lot of stuff I’ve never learned before like Chemistry.  That stuff is beyond me!  So daily, as I study, I offer up many prayers for understanding and help and guidance.  

Some of my conversations with God have been that I know He’s guiding me to this, and that I believe that He's showing me that some of my life's work includes learning these things, so I have asked for His intervention to help me succeed.  Theres a saying “He didn’t bring you this far just to abandon you.”  So I choose faith.

Yesterday I was at church in Relief Society (womens class) and I went to sit down, and I immediately didn’t want to sit there, and then I looked around and didn’t see anywhere that I wanted to sit.  I was confused, because I don’t really ever have this problem.  Then I looked at Paula.  She invited me to sit by her.  So I moved.  She told me she had been thinking about me for 3 weeks or so and wondered how I was doing.  I told her I didn’t know why she was thinking about me-nothing really was going on in my life that she’d need to think of me.  So she asked about my job and how it was going and if I had made changes.

I told her all about the new changes in my life.  And about anatomy and physiology and that the chemistry was over my head.  Its really something I think I’ll love if I understand it.  I mentioned looking for someone in the ward who had experience who could tutor me.  She said she was sure someone at church had taught it before.  I asked if it was Brother Buhrley.  She said she didn’t think so.  But, at the end of the meeting when Sister Buhrley came walking my way I asked her what her husband taught when he was at BYU-I.  She replied “Anatomy & Physiology”.  To say the least, I was so excited!  When we moved to Boise 2 ½ years ago so did the Buhrley’s.  And when I met him I remembered him telling me that he loved teaching and that he wished he could tutor or help teach it still.  So when she answered my question-I really felt like I could burst with joy.  The Lord has answered my prayers continually and this day in a big way.  So, this afternoon we just finished our first study lesson.  He’s an educator.  He taught this same class!  He helped me understand so much today.  And he loved teaching and he misses it.  It was so nice to have questions answered.  He gave me handouts and everything! 

So to sum this up, this isn’t the path I ever intended to go down, but I’ve been building my life as much as I can with the Lord guiding me.  And its been a lot faith to let Him.  And as I feel the fire and joy of His hand helping along, my courage builds that maybe, just maybe I will do this. 

"Sometimes, the Lord sends His blessings in such a highly unusual, dramatic, or precisely timed manner, that it might be likened to a "divine signature." It is as though the Lord "signs" the blessings personally so that we will know with certainty that it comes from Him. In doing so, God not only gives us the blessing, but at the same time He strengthens our faith and deepens our testimony of Him."--Gerald Lund