Before I was born, my family had lived in Lima, the capital city of Peru. One day, there was a very strong earthquake in a region in Peru. At that time, my father was working at the Ministry of Home Affairs, and he was in charge of reconstructing the region damaged by the earthquake together with a group of professionals. Owing to this, my family moved to Huaraz, Ancash. After a few years, I was born as the last of six siblings. My oldest brother was thirteen years older than me. All my family took care of me with love.
One morning, I got up and looked out the window of my bedroom. Things like white beads were falling from the sky. ‘How beautiful!’ I wanted to touch them. Hurriedly and quietly, I slipped down the hallway that separated my room from my brothers’. On my bare feet, I ran to the courtyard which was covered with white beads. Without concerning that my hands were changing its color to blue, I played, touching white and cold beads. At that moment, someone quickly lifted me off the frozen ground. It was my mother. I couldn’t understand why she did so. I was having so much fun with those ice beads. My mother was distraught, saying that she must’ve looked after me better. Still, I did not know why she said so.
At night, I had a high fever. Seeing me in pain, my mother sobbed. It was only the beginning, though. A little later, I found it very difficult to breathe. When my mother held me in her arms, I coughed and stained my mother’s blouse with blood. Looking at me, she immediately closed my nose and took me to the nearest hospital. On the way to the hospital, I kept coughing and bleeding.
The doctor tried to apply an injection to me.
“No, please . . . That hurts!”
I pleaded with my mother, but she held me hard so that I could not move. When I got injected, I felt the pain and cried loudly. I complained why she had it done so. At that moment, I saw my mother. She, too, was shedding tears constantly.
Later, as I grew, I learned the severity of the disease that I got from the hail which I played with recklessly, calling it white beads. If my mother had not pressed the veins of my nose hard to prevent further bleeding, I could’ve been in a serious situation caused by excessive bleeding. Also, my symptoms would’ve gone worse, if my mother had not had me injected just because I would feel pain. It took me many years to understand the love of my mother.
Even while I was preaching the gospel, it seemed that I had not thought deeply about the sacrifice of Heavenly Mother who takes care of us. Heavenly Mother works hard beyond description to save Her children. Mother sometimes gives us the process of refinement so that we can be changed into heavenly beings worthy to enter heaven. But, in such times, I didn’t consider how painful Mother must have felt, watching Her weak children.
From now on, I will remember that Heavenly Mother always gives us the best. Remembering Mother who looks after me, I will walk the path of faith with joy and happiness in any situation.