I guess I ought to start by apologizing on behalf of our family for not being more timely at posting blogs. The easy excuse is we're incredibly busy but then who isn't? Unfortunately, unlike some of my sisters, the busier I get, the less I feel like posting a blog.
I did however want to record something that happened to me that I consider a miracle.
Approximately 6 months ago our family attended the Sunday general session of our stake conference. Because we knew how obnoxious Holden can get, we chose to sit in the cultural hall. During the rest hymn, we all stood to sing and Holden naturally wanted to run up to the stand and conduct so I grabbed him and held him to my chest during the song. Needless to say, he wasn't too fond of being held at that particular moment and began to kick his legs wildly. Unfortunately he connected with my phone that was attached to my belt and knocked it to the ground. I quickly picked it up but didn't notice until we were seated again that the SD memory card had been knocked out.
I had a hard time paying attention during the remainder of conference because I was frantically looking around on the ground to see if I could locate the card. The reason I was so concerned was because not only did the card contain hundreds of pictures but more importantly it contained my scriptures.
Shortly after I bought my Palm Treo I purchased some software that allowed me to mark and annotate my scriptures. So, the card represented 100's of hours of studying, marking and creating notes. Even after the session ended I was unable to find the card even though the whole family as well as a few friends were scouring the gym floor for the SD card. I even checked the lost and found a few days later but by that time, I had given up hope. What was especially frustrating was the circumstances under which I had lost the card. I thought to myself, I'm where I'm supposed to be on Sunday. I'm with my family and I'm holding my son but even so, I lose my scriptures that I had worked so hard on despite my prayers that I might find the card.
For those of you who are asking why I didn't have a recent backup of the card...don't ask. I've already beat myself up over that one. I had backups of virtually everything, except the SD card.
Well, a tiny miracle happened the next day. Krissy was picking up Sloane from her school, when she noticed a brand new SD card still in the box in the middle of the parking lot. She turned it in to the school's lost and found but after no one claimed it, it was given back to Krissy. This at least saved me $25 or so by not having to purchase a new card. And while I was grateful for this, I still didn't envy the task of starting from scratch and replacing my scriptures.
But as time went on, I figured this was the Lord's way of getting me to intensify my study of the scriptures. Progress was slow initially but over the ensuing months I replaced roughly 1/3 of what I had previously but I was clearly missing most of what I had. Of special concern were the many scriptures I had marked and made notes on while researching a particular subject. I knew it would be virtually impossible to replicate what I typed on the lost card.
Well, fast forward 6 months; Yesterday evening I got up from the couch to answer a knock at the door. In the door frame stood a large man who asked me if I had 3 bigger boys, a girl and a little boy. I thought to myself, "uh-oh, what did they do now?" But against my better judgment I told him I did, so he reached into his pocket (for a split second I thought he might be going for a weapon) and he handed me my lost SD card. I was dumbfounded (more than usual). He said that he found the card underneath his washing machine. Apparently his young son must have picked up the card at Stake Conference, put it in his pocket and when his clothes were washed, it somehow ended up under their washing machine until it was found 6 months later.
What was just as amazing though was how the guy was able to track me down. It's not like I had my name and phone number on the card. Apparently the guy put the card in his computer and began to look at some of my pictures to see if he could find a way to return the card. He came across a picture I took of the front of our house and since he happened to work for the city of Saint George, he was somehow able to get an exact address and was able to deliver the card.
I offered the guy a reward but he wouldn't accept, he was very humble and said he just felt driven to find out who this SD card belonged to. I know I'm probably being overly dramatic with this sentiment but the first thought that came to me was that it was kind of like Joseph Smith having the lost 116 pages returned to him.
Anyway, this is definitely a miracle in my life. The Lord answered my prayers, maybe not as quickly as I would have liked but I'm now able to combine the work I had done previously with what I've done over the last 6 months.
Well, it's getting late but I wanted to record this experience for posterity. Hope everyone is well.
Chris
