The Tow Truck Rescue

Many of you know that my youngest children are twin boys. They are 18 this year, are preparing to graduate from high school and will be leaving to serve missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in June. Nate will be serving in Guatemala City East and Aaron with be serving in Lima Peru South. They’ll be gone for 2 years.

You can watch them open their calls in the short video below. It was a super great night. So much joy and excitement!

To say my Mama heart is full would be a grand understatement. It’s a giant combination of 98% joy, excitement and gratitude for their willingness and 2% dread thinking of the challenge ahead. You can understand the dread, right? I know many of you are going through the same thing right now, or have done it many times in the past.

Missionary Mama Hearts are a complicated assortment of emotion, of that you can be sure.

This season of “getting ready” logistically, spiritually and emotionally has been very sweet. I feel so proud of them for being willing to go, truly I do.

But there are days, dear reader…when I feel overwhelmed by it. Afraid. Nervous. Unsure of our ability to meet the challenge of it all.

And then something happens that reminds me of the “why”, and my heart gets centered and filled with enthusiasm again.

Last week, just such a thing happened.

My boys ran in a track meet in Brigham City, Utah about 40 minutes from our home.

My daughter Emily and I made the drive, watched them run for 10 minutes, and cheered loudly and appropriately as Mother’s and Sister’s do. 🙂 Then we found ourselves some Cafe Rio and made the drive home. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon, yes?

The boys stayed until early evening, cheering for their team mates and enjoying the fun of being together.

As they entered the freeway to drive home, the car had some trouble and they were forced to pull over to the side of the onramp. After assessing the situation, making a call or two to older siblings, and MyHandsomeHusband and I, a tow truck was contacted and the boys settled in to wait for rescue.

They waited two and a half hours.

On the side of the freeway onramp.

Mostly in the dark.

With their Mama texting to check in now and then and MyHandsomeHusband reminding me that they would soon be living in foreign countries and this kind of experience would be good for them.

When the tow truck arrived, and the car was safely hitched, my boys hopped in the truck cab with the driver and they headed back home to us.

The truck driver asked my boys what kind of plans they had for the future, and at the mention of their impending missions, he told them he’d grown up in Utah, in “the church”. His brothers had served missions, but he had gone down a different path.

He shared openly about moving to a different state and his challenging experiences with drug addiction. He’d been homeless, and for a time lived in a dumpster, selling tin cans to make money for his next fix.

And then.

He told them about a tender dream he’d had of Light.

Light in his darkness, Light illuminating a way back, Light ushering in another chance and a brother sending money for a plane ticket home.

He told them about Rescue.

And God’s infinite love and pursuit of him.

Painting “Come Unto Jesus” by Michael Malm, hanging in the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City (push play to see a video clip of it. It was too big to fit in one picture!)

And this Mama heart of mine stood still again, in awe and wonder at Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, who know each of us, individually and love us to our core. Regardless of addiction, or dumpsters dwellings, or inadequacies, or fear, or any other shortcomings we’re bogged down with.

Could there be a more glorious message to carry?

The message of Rescue and of a God who loves without measure.

And so, we buy their mission suits and help pack bags, and get them immunized with Rabies shots and send them off, the glorious message of Rescue in tow.

“Therefore, let us…cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.”
D & C 123:17

My love to all of you today, especially to my fellow Missionary Mamas out there.

We got this. 🙂