God does not want to remain anonymous!

(April 1, 2010) These boys are so sweet. Last night Josh was getting ready to take a shower. He went in the bathroom to get started and then said, “Mom—do you want to change before I get in the shower?” Such a thoughtful thing to do. I’m constantly in awe of how these boys can be so kind. This morning Jake gave a beautiful family prayer, thankful for our parents and all the hard work they put in so we can have this great opportunity. They are both so appreciative. It makes me want to do as much as I can for them.

I’ve been thinking about a quote Dave put up on Facebook—“Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous” (Einstein). Bonnie and Joel (and the rest of us) recently went through “match” week for medical residency. We all know how smart Joel is and how hard he works. However, he has picked an extremely competitive field in which to practice medicine—radiation oncology. There were many, many more applicants than there were open positions. There was always a possibility that he might not get matched and might have to “scramble” for a residency position in a different field. There was also a possibility that he might have to choose to wait another year to try to match into the field he really wanted.

Last year he and Bonnie decided to try to get a rotation at the University of Arizona. I’m not sure how they came to that decision. Joel also went to the University of Utah and a school in Mississippi. There were many places they could have applied to for a rotation. They came here to Utah first for 4 weeks and then went to Arizona for 4 weeks. Bonnie told me that Tucson was a place where they could both really see themselves living. She said the smells were familiar, the air was familiar—of course, I feel very comfortable with the area having lived there many years ago. However, the University of Arizona is one of the most desirable places in the country to practice radiation oncology.

Well, sure enough, Bonnie called me on match day to tell me that Joel had been accepted in to the radiation oncology program at the University of Arizona. I was totally overcome when she told me—I just couldn’t believe that it could be true. I even asked her if she was kidding—then realized that of course she wouldn’t be. It was just too amazing to be true.

You see, that is the same hospital, same department, same speciality that our daughter, Kimberly, was treated at in 1989. The “coincidence” is just too great. What are the odds that our son-in-law would choose that profession, that speciality, that hospital? It just can’t be by chance. I have had the absolutely overwhelming, undeniable feeling that this is the clearest possible sign from our Heavenly Father that he is watching out for our family. He is taking care of each of us. He is mindful of our trials, our sorrows, our dedication, our desires and our individuality. He knows us and is taking care of each member of our family. Even though we have so many unique struggles with each of our family members I know he is watching for every member of our family. This is no coincidence, and he does not want to remain anonymous.

On the other hand, I feel that sometimes we give God too much credit. We had a young man in our neighborhood pass away this last month from injuries resulting from a horrible car accident. Another comment on Facebook—“Taylor must have been too good for this life so God took him to a better place.” Now, I know that that comment makes some people feel better about a loss. However, I don’t believe that Heavenly Father had anything to do with this accident. It was just a horrible, awful accident that Heavenly Father neither caused nor intervened. He didn’t “take” Taylor to a better place—He surely welcomed him there but I don’t believe that people die because Heavenly Father “takes” them—causes them to die. Of course there are times when life comes to an end, and where Priesthood power could prolong or extend a life, and Heavenly Father doesn’t extend that blessing. But let’s give Heavenly Father credit where it’s due, and let’s not give him credit for the horrible accidents and other casualties that happen as a result of misuse of our free agency or just plain every day earth life.