Family Is Central to His Plan & He is Central to the Success of Family

I have the special privilege of introducing you to my sister-in-law, Renae today.

I hate saying the "in-law" part, because she is sister "in-so-much-more"!

I'm so pleased to have her with us today.

Here's Renae!

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My name is Renae and my husband, Eric, and I have two kids.  We have been living in Toledo, Ohio for 8 years.  Jocelyn's husband is my brother, and it's been great having family semi-close out East. :)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints proclaims to the world, "that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children."  Our Creator has placed us here in families, and given us the power to create our own families.  

When Eric and I decided to get married, we didn't know how things would turn out (we still don't), but we had plans.  When we decided to have kids, we didn't know how it would be, but we knew we wanted it.  Before our second child was born, she was diagnosed with a heart defect.  How scary and daunting!  But, here we are, all of us, on the other side of three heart surgeries, chugging along. 

 I can tell you a few things I know for certain that I learned through this: 

First, even though the situation seemed to be beyond my control, I felt the supporting presence of our Heavenly Father; I had faith that He would see us through,  "but if not" that would also be okay.  Since the family is part of His plan and our eternal destiny, He would also be an active part of it.  I know that our Heavenly Father knows and loves us and wants us to keep loving and working at our eternal families.  When we make Him a part of our family's daily-goings-on, He increases our efforts, shows us the way and expands our vision and our hearts.

Second, I know that we could never have made it though this experience alone.  That is how God planned it.  We need each other to make it through this life.  And if we are fortunate and wise, we will lean on family, friends, church leaders, and other helpful resources that can bolster us along the way.  I continue to get tips, insights, and inspiration from all of these people on concerns that come up.  When we look for good examples, we can find them.  This whole celebration of the FAMILY is something that gets us excited, involved and thinking about making our families better, brighter and all of us more like our Savior.

Lastly, my family means everything to me.  They say you love those you serve.  My little family is everything.  If it is to be, it's up to me.  No one is in the position to do more for them than I am.  Wow.  With God, all things truly are possible. :)

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Thank you, Renae!


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