. . . And I Count the Times
by Tamara Francis
It is interesting how memory can escape one, and then a sudden recollection of a brief formative window in one’s childhood clearly returns, validating God’s hand in one’s life. One particular reminiscence was a walk home from kindergarten. I was five years old. I walked home from school every day, but this day left an imprint on my mind. I was almost half a mile along my way when two of the biggest dogs I had ever seen, Saint Bernards wearing keg collars, came vigorously loping behind me. I have always been an animal lover, but the closer the dogs came to me, the more unnerved I became. I started praying to Heavenly Father that he would help me and protect me from these king-sized creatures, which I perceived as an aggressive threat. This was the moment when my prayers were answered in such a way that I knew that Heavenly Father loved a little blonde-haired five-year-old child. I was just about to take off running for my life when my dad pulled up in his car and leaned across the seat to open the door for me. I jumped in the front seat and slammed the door. He asked me if I was afraid of the dogs now running ahead of our car. I don’t remember how I responded, but I knew that I had prayed to Heavenly Father, and he sent my dad to save me. The timing of this story is probably in less than a few minutes, and I am still at a loss for words because my dad must have discerned something deeply in his heart to change his normal routine. I felt so loved that he listened to that prompting and followed through just in time to save me. Looking back, I do not recall thanking my father for rescuing his firstborn child from this unnerving encounter. I wonder if he felt the admiration, gratitude, and appreciation I felt for him right there during that moment in time.
As Christ was traveling to Jerusalem, he entered a village and was approached by ten ‘persona non grata’ lepers who had been pronounced unclean by their priests. Disease processes most likely had left them infirm with raw open sores; they were crippled and disfigured, their hands and feet had a loss of sensation, and the social stigma of exclusion from the community left them as outcasts in the margins. They must have heard the chatter of Christ’s healing power and called out to Him to “have mercy on them.” ii Christ asked them to show themselves to the priests, and as they did, a miraculous phenomenon occurred: the disease was cleansed. One can only imagine the liberating jubilation of this life-changing incident in which Jesus manifested his divine power. As we know, only one of the ten, a Samaritan, turned back. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and gave thanks. The other nine, now healed leper survivors, must have looked at their now clean skin, which the Savior cured, but it didn’t occur to them to return and give thanks. I wonder if Christ felt the unexpressed admiration, gratitude, and appreciation of the nine who were now in a good place. In a sense, all of us are lepers with all manner of diverse issues; as Fiona Givens reminds us in The Christ Who Heals, “We are all wounded, we are all in need of healing, and the Lord has our recuperation very much in mind from the beginning.” iii
I feel so much gratitude for my parents for teaching me the beautiful faith doctrine of a pre-mortal existence. Before we came to this Earth, we participated in a large family council as spirit children of our Heavenly Parents. We learned of the plan of salvation where a Redeemer, even through his healing power, Jesus Christ could help us continue progressing if we chose to become more like them through repentance. Jesus Christ, under the direction of our Heavenly Father, created this Earth where we could practice enduring through trials and soul-stretching experiences to learn how to overcome our shortcomings, mistakes, disappointments, times of grief, and our wounded state. We would be placed in families and friendships where we could form relationship bonds and experience life with the option to make choices and learn from experience.
~I bought in.
~All of us here on Earth bought in.
My Dad may have never known how loved I felt after his intervention. The Lepers who forgot to say thanks probably later regretted not returning and expressing their gratitude for the Savior’s healing of their wounds, but I have a feeling they privately knelt and uttered prayers of gratitude to their God. Many of the things that we do to help others are never known, yet if our Heavenly Parents know when a sparrow falls, they certainly know us and are involved in our lives. iv I appreciated President Monson's sharing that “You will one day stand aside and look at your difficult times, and you will realize that He was always there beside you.” v
And so.....I hope to express my admiration, gratitude, and appreciation to those who have touched my soul even without knowing it.
~To the soul who motivated me to finish my Bachelor’s degree and listens to my ramblings.
~To the friend who reminded me that I live an abundant life.
~To the kids and grandkids who bring me pride and joy.
~To the gentleman who is my soulmate.
~To my mother who gave me life.
~To my dad, who saved me again and again.
~To my Savior who has carried me and loved me unconditionally.
~To my Heavenly Parents who provided this experience in mortality.
.....as Karen Carpenter famously sang in the song called “Sometimes,” vi
“Sometimes, not often enough
We reflect upon the good things
And those thoughts always center around those we love
And I think about those people who mean so much to me
And for so many years have made me so very happy
And I count the times I have forgotten to say ‘thank you’ and just how much I love them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35lBbXqTsds
i United States, Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. "Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy)." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 31 May 2023,
Month Year, URL. https://www.cdc.gov/leprosy/symptoms/index.html
ii The New Oxford Annotated Bible. Michael D. Coogan, Third Edition. New York: Oxford University
Press, 2001. Luke 17, 11-18.
iii Givens, Fiona & Terryl. The Christ Who Heals. Salt Lake City, Deseret Book, 2017. p. 66.
iv The Holy Bible. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 1983. The Bible: Authorized
King James Version.
v Monson, Thomas S. “We Never Walk Alone.” Ensign, October 2013, p. 121.
vi “Sometimes.” YouTube, uploaded by Universal Music Group, 7 August 2018,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35lBbXqTsds
Artwork: The Ten Lepers by Jorge Cocco