Epiphany in the Kitchen

The author of this note is a mother who has spent the past five months on an intensive training program for her autistic son, gradually hiring many teenagers and young adults to help her, which has been an incredibly positive experience for everyone, but also very emotionally and physically demanding for her. Recently, while already feeling overwhelmed by the demands of the program, she was physically injured by her son, so badly that she had to call for help. This note was written a week after the injury, following many words of counsel from friends, a visit to the temple, loving support of her family, and her first-ever visit to a holistic healing practitioner. -------- I've been stressed almost to the breaking point recently, saw a holistic health practitioner yesterday which was mainly for my son but I got a mini session as well and left feeling more peaceful and relaxed than I have been in years. I continued feeling peaceful and relaxed through the demands of today and just now got this epiphany while cooking dinner. I think that God really likes to catch me when I'm doing some physical task (probably the reason life is full of physical tasks and that they are a blessing to us) and I often get my best inspirations while working in the kitchen. On Monday in Institute class the teacher said that "doing all you can do" does not mean running yourself ragged to bring one more casserole to someone. It means regularly repenting. That's all. I honestly have a hard time with thinking about repenting because I am so incredibly hard on myself as it is. And then I got this flood of insight, a "reprimand from Above", but it was gentle and loving. --You need to repent of not relaxing. --You need to repent of putting other Gods before Me, such as worrying more about what the program director thinks than what I (God) have told you to do, which is take a step back and take care of yourself and your family emotionally. --You need to repent of constantly criticizing yourself. I don't work that way. --You need to repent of running yourself ragged in the service of others so you have nothing left physically or emotionally. Trust me, I can get the work of my kingdom done even if you don't make that extra casserole.  --And you need to repent of modeling this mistreatment of yourself to your daughters. And... --I am so proud of you for asking your husband to come to your son's back-to-school night with you and him tonight even though you knew he would be busy getting ready for his business trip in the morning. And you knew that there was a good chance he would say no but you risked it anyway. And you went even though the last thing you felt like doing was getting in the car and driving there half an hour away after a busy afternoon, and your son had almost fallen asleep in his room. You went anyway because you know how important it is to get his dad more involved and informed about his life. This was an important step in sharing the burden of his care with others. --I am so proud of you for puttering around alone in the house this morning, not answering the door to the Jehovah's Witnesses even though that makes you feel guilty, and for saying a prayer for them. --I am so proud of you for being so in tune to My prompting to get "Gary" involved with your son. I loved that you were sitting quietly and peacefully riding home in the car from back-to-school night, so that I could touch your heart and remind you of what "Gary" said this afternoon, "Working with your son is the most important and rewarding thing I have ever done in my life." This from a young man who is working so hard to change his life and just found out he will be spending the weekend in jail for some past misdeeds. I promise you that someone will come along to influence your adult son just as you and your son are influencing "Gary". --And I'm so glad that you understand that how or how much your young son progresses is not the point. The point is the people like "Gary" and so many others who are being blessed by being with him. So please let go of stressing the details. ---------- "He answers privately, reaches my reaching, in my Gethsemane, Savior and friend. Gentle the peace he finds, for my beseeching. Constant, he is, and kind, love without end."