Coincidence?

General Conference is this weekend.

Mark and I are very much looking forward to it.

We have always enjoyed it, but we find ourselves thirsting for it more than ever.

Last October 2012 General Conference Mark had to work all weekend.

So I packed Miles and Vivian up and headed to Idaho to visit my family for the weekend.

I'm so glad I did.

It was a great weekend.

Sunday my parents, the kids and I all packed up in my dad's truck and headed out for a long drive.

It's a tradition my family has done for years. 

Go for a drive, listen to conference and see the changing of the colors the fall has brought on.

It's makes for a beautiful drive.

It was funny, my parents got really excited when Elder Bowen's talk came on.

It was as though they were anticipating him.

I didn't know much about him, 

so I was impressed to hear what he had to say seeing my parent's enthusiasm.

Sadly I don't think many of us heard much of his talk.

Just as Elder Bowen began his talk Miles needed to stop and go to the bathroom.

So we found ourselves making a quick pit stop on a dirt road up in the mountains surrounded by amazing white giant windmills.

Once everyone was done with their business and settled back in the truck 

we had missed most all of his talk.

After an extended weekend at my parents house.

The kids and I packed up and headed back to see our dad.

Miles desperately wanted to get back to Mark.

It wasn't too unusual, but a little that he wanted to leave sooner than planned to see Mark.

The days after we got home Mark and I were watching conference talks 

each night to catch up on the ones we missed.

The night before we headed to our family reunion, where we lost Miles a day and a half later, we ended on this talk by Elder Bowen, "Because I Live, Ye Shall Live Also."

Mark and I stayed up that night talking about the current trials we were facing at the time.

They seemed very heavy for our shoulders to bear in that moment in time.

We reflected on this talk and spoke about how hard it would be to lose a child.

We were so lucky that the loss of a child wasn't a trial we had to bear, and that we hoped we never would have that trial because it made our current ones seem so much less.

We both said that we weren't sure that we could bear that trial.

It was at that moment we were grateful for the burdens we had to bear, as our hearts were heavy for those that bear the loss of a child or a loved one for that matter.

Is it coincidence that this was the last conference talk that we listened 

to just before Miles returned to Heaven?

Some may say so.

But for me, I don't believe in coincidences anymore.

I truly believe that God's hand is in everything.

It's just hard to recognize or understand it all the time.

But he knows us better than we know ourselves.

He prepares us in ways that we don't understand, for things to come.

I hope you all find some peace, love, hope, strength and joy in the upcoming General Conference.

I'm praying for it myself.