My Experience With Inner Peace #PrinceofPeace

My church, The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints, is inviting everyone to find peace during Holy Week and Easter by following the Prince of Peace and his example. Mormon.org will include ideas and resources for people to find their own inner peace through eight principles of peace that Jesus Christ lived and demonstrated during his life here on Earth:

• Faith
• Compassion
• Forgiveness
• Repentance
• Gratitude
• God’s Word/Scripture
• Prayer
• Hope 

All of the Easter materials on Mormon.org will be available in English and Spanish.This campaign launches on March 31st and can be followed with the hashtag #PrinceofPeace.

Here are some other great articles on Holy Week...
Easter: https://www.mormon.org/beliefs/easter
Palm Sunday: https://www.mormon.org/beliefs/palm-sunday
Good Friday: https://www.mormon.org/beliefs/good-friday
Resurrection of Jesus Christ: https://www.mormon.org/beliefs/resurrection-of-jesus-christ

Tatiana and her beautiful smile. Make a picture with this filter to share with others how Christ brings peace to your life.

MY PERSONAL STORY OF INNER PEACE

When I was pregnant with my third child, Tatiana, my family of 4, almost 5, was struggling with finances while we were living in Winchester Bay Oregon. We had moved into a little trailer on the same property as The Rusty Frog, a store that sold frog trinkets, chainsaw carvings, etc. We had been promised by our landlord when we moved in that we would be able to put my husband, Brian's, Shopbot, computer controlled router, in one of the back rooms so that we could make our living making wooden things that were carved. This never came into fruition and we were faced with a hard decision. To move somewhere else and sell Brian's Shopbot and other things or stay and try to make the best of things. My daughter was born, we were having trouble paying the bills and our semi-new Honda Civic had been repossessed.

About that same time we got an invitation to Brian's sister's wedding at Walt Disney World in Florida. We placed our trust and faith in our Lord and prayed about our situation. The spirit gave us the feeling to drop everything, go to the wedding, and move to Florida. So that is what we did. We sold off as much as we could, put the rest of our stuff in storage at a friend's place, and bought plane tickets to Orlando bringing only what we thought we needed as essentials.

When we got there we rented a vehicle for a few days, got settled in a hotel, bought two bicycles and a bike trailer that seated our two small boys, and season passes for the whole family for Sea World. The wedding was beautiful and I am so glad we got to make it there to be a part of it. After the wedding was over we lived in Orlando for several years, we got on government assistance until Brian found a job and we moved into a condominium down the street from the Mall and Grocery Store.

Until we got a car, we would bike all over Orlando to get groceries, go to medical appointments, and all the way to Sea World as a family. I would have Tatiana in a baby carrier with a sunhat and sunscreen while I biked with the two boys in the covered bike trailer that doubled as a stroller. Sometimes we would also take the city bus. It was great getting out of the house and hanging out with dolphins all weekend and the kids loved it.

While in Orlando my daughter, Tatiana, was diagnosed with a brain tumor (Juvenile Pilocytic Astrocytoma) stemming from her optic nerve and engulfing her pituitary and carotid artery. We were very fortunate to be in Orlando when she was diagnosed because we received exceptional medical care for her and had the best brain surgeon, Dr. Eric Trumble. We were definitely in the right place at the right time. We hoped and prayed that things would go well with the surgery and for Him to guide the surgeon's capable hands.

When she was operated on to resect the tumor she was only 6 months old. We were told that worst case she might not regain her sight and that she might only live a year because it had metastasized to the brain lining. Dr. Trumble assured us though that he had gotten the majority of the tumor out and cut the blood supply to it without severing the optic nerves. We had faith in the Lord that everything would be fine.

Tatiana's life was riddled with multiple medical problems and hospital visits/stays. She had seizures, total blindness, cerebral palsy, and numerous endocrine issues. This, however, did not dampen her sweet spirit. She was a gorgeous little girl with a head full of red curly locks and bright blue eyes. She loved hugs and blowing kisses to anyone she met. Even getting poked with needles and prodded by nurses didn't get her down. She would always make me smile. She was the happiest, most loving child we have ever met and we love her so much!

Our beautiful Tatiana lived for 6 whole years! We attribute her longer life to faith, a lot of prayer, Dr. Trumble, and a special healing device we called the light box, a precursor to FLO De-stressing Technology, that we took her to. She never had to go through radiation therapy or chemotherapy and the tumor never grew back. She passed away suddenly because of lobar pneumonia. Here is the post I wrote of her passing.

We are so glad to have had her in our lives and that she got to be a part of our family. We miss her dearly, but we know she is in heaven and we will meet her there someday. I am so grateful for Christ and our Heavenly Father and the blessings they have given my family. Knowing that families are forever and that the Lord is always there for us even in times of trial and hardship brings my family and I inner peace.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I wrote this post to let my readers know about this great opportunity to find inner peace through the #PrinceofPeace. I did not receive any compensation for writing this post. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else.