Gardiner God Cares

 Christie Gardiner, an LDS author I follow, shared this story on Instagram today.  I love it so much!!

Here's what she wrote:

"God loves you. He is aware of you specifically. He cares about what you care about. He sends earthly and heavenly angels to minister to us.

....Today is about a miracle. And Jesus. And HEARING GOD. I cannot separate myself like oil and water from my spirituality. I’ve tried but it doesn’t work. My Heavenly Mother, Father, Savior and Holy Spirit are in everything I am.

Before I go on, let me say that this story is about a community theatre play.  I know it's just a play.  We've all lost a lot in 2020 so to talk about the potential loss of a role in a show might seem silly at first.  Believe me, the blows of my 2020 have been much bigger than this play (as they have for everyone) but for some reason  I've handled the big stuff with a lot more grace (which isn't saying much because really, how graceful can one be whilst eating their feelings in their bed for months on end?)  

A  few weeks back, the show I’m in was two days away from opening when a castmate’s wife tested positive for the coronavirus and the show faced yet another uncertain future. After being cast on January 11th in a role I’ve wanted for over six years, having paused production for Corona numerous times and being two tiny days away from finally opening, I felt deflated. It seemed more than my 2020-torn-to-pieces heart could handle. In a moment of emotional desperation I asked a few of my castmates this question: “Do you think God cares specifically about this show?”

One of them replied, “I think God cares about you keeping your covenants. Outside of that, I’m not really sure.”

“You and me both.” I thought.

It took a couple weeks but a two-day miracle helped me know the answer.

After our cast quarantine and another scare from a Gubernatorial announcement requiring 
even more last minute safety measures, we finally opened our show on Oct 17, a full nine months after having been cast. As a result I am currently in the middle of an intense run with lots of shows crammed into a small time.
Hours before Thursday’s show we got some hard news at home which broke my heart. The crying from that news coupled with sheer exhaustion settled itself into my body in the form of intense sinus pressure and congestion. Not great for singing. 
 (Don’t worry. No fever, no cough, no loss of taste, no corona symptoms.) Before leaving I asked my husband to give me a priesthood blessing. (A type of prayer). In this prayer it was said that I would be able to perform and I would be pleased with my performance. I went to the theatre and went about preparing with no change. “Oh well,” I thought, “I’ll just have to do my best.” Then, right before the show started, as the opening announcement was being made, I was walking outside from one side of the stage to the other when I felt my sinuses crack open and completely clear. I gasped and the answer to the question I had asked my castmates weeks ago came to me in these words to my mind, “Yes, I care about this play.” Out in the cold air, my heart soared.


I performed well, with a clear voice and then, just as I bowed at the end of the show I 
felt the sinus congestion settle itself back down in my head. He didn’t take it completely away but He let me have reprieve.

Friday morning, I woke up with no voice. None. I couldn’t even get a word out of my mouth without my voice cracking. What was happening? I tried to have faith remembering my answer from the night before. Heaven cares! I began all the singers protocols: apple cider vinegar/honey/lemon tea, throat coat, entertainer’s secret, essential oils, meditation and personal prayer. I tried to remain calm knowing that panic or tears would not help. I went to a friend’s house for lunch with four women and my beautiful friends ministered to me. They rubbed my feet with oils, they offered words of encouragement, they told me they believed in me. My one friend said, “I see you singing there on stage with the Savior right beside you and it is beautiful.” They were angels.
An hour before I needed to drive to the theatre I tried to sing my songs and there was no 
voice there. I reached out to several other friends and asked for prayers. One friend even extended the request to a prayer circle to which we both belong. Within minutes, at least a dozen dear friends were praying for me. I prayed that my grandmother and great grandmother who loved performing would be able to be with me from Heaven.
Just as the night before, performance time came and my body gave me what I needed to deliver a performance of which I was proud. One friend who came to the show had heard me speak earlier that morning and was in pure shock. “How did you do that?” she asked. I didn’t. It was God. Because, in answer to the question I posed to my castmates weeks ago, Yes, He cares about this show. I think He cares because I care and I matter to him.
Do 
I know why I was given miracles to this little thing and have not been given the miracles I wanted when pleading for much more important things? I don’t. Do I know why God answers “yes” sometimes and “no” others? No. Do I still wonder about the mysteries of God? Every day. I feel like the Book of Mormon prophet Nephi who says, “I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.”

I don’t fully understand any of it. But on this day, I want to testify to what I do know: YOU matter to Him. What you care about matters to Him. You are NOT alone. Our Heavenly family is there in the answered prayers AND the silence. Open your eyes, heart, and ears. See, feel and hear. 



Praise God in the answers. Praise God in the silence. Praise God in all the lessons.
LESSONS LEARNED:  God is in the details of our lives.  Sometimes that is easy to see and sometimes it is harder, but it is always true.


We should praise God in all of the lessons.


We are not alone.  


Prayers are answered.