Hilary, my new hero.

Today I had the opportunity to once again work in the Youth Center in the temple. I was really excited to be able to do this again. To me, it's one of the best things I've done in the temple. And today may have been the best yet. But I have to admit, when I got there today, I was a little confused about the family coming in.

According to their information sheet, there were three boys, ages 10, 14 and 16, and a girl age 19. The three boys were to be witnesses only, the 19 year old girl was the one to be sealed, and it was listed as an adoption. I was having a really difficult time coming up with a scenario to make sense with the facts I had. Of course I wanted to know the story, but was too polite to ask details when the family came in. Fortunately, with no prompting, the young woman told us her story.

This is not her "natural" family. This is the family that introduced her to the gospel. She was baptized a year ago August, and when she did so, her own family disowned her. This new family continued to love and support her. She was in the pre-med program at UW, but transferred down to Utah State and changed her major to history, which was the final straw with her family. She said to imagine the worst possible scenario in telling her already estranged parents and that might come close to how bad it was with them. So with no ties to them, she was welcomed with open arms into her "new" family. She was even adopted by them, finalized last month.

But this isn't the end of her story. While in Logan she started experiencing some tingling and numbness in her right side, as well as terrible migraines. It got so bad she ended up taking a medical leave from school and coming home to undergo tests. They were worried she was having strokes, that she might have MS, an aneurysm, or several possibilities. I don't remember the name of what she has, but the long and short of it is that her migraines are literally paralyzing her. She was, at one point, completely paralyzed on her right side. With medical intervention and physical therapy she has regained some movement, but she's a long way away from full range of motion and can't even walk on her own. She was supposed to go to a live in physical therapy place, but they wouldn't guarantee she would be able to leave to attend the temple tonight, so she said no. Even though going would have significantly reduced the amount of time it would have taken her to regain her strength and mobility, she ultimately decided traditional physical therapy would have to do. Being in the temple to be sealed to her new family was her only priority. And she didn't regret her decision for a moment. That young woman was all smiles. She was grateful for the miracles that had gotten her to that point. She was amazing.

As were her new parents. They love that girl. They feel privileged to be a part of her life. They don't care about the physical problems, the medical bills, or even paying for college for one more than they planned for, years before they expected. She IS their daughter to them and they feel blessed to have her. Standing in that sealing room, seeing that family standing together newly sealed, 2 loving parents, a grateful daughter, and three boys so excited to have a brand new sister, I couldn't help but be grateful I was blessed enough to witness that miracle.