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| The crowd at pageant–a sea of bodies |
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| Picture this FULL of people, Rich at the right where the stage begins and Rachel straight back, in the middle of the field this side of the road. |
Saw this article on the Hill Cumorah Pageant and it had some cool photos, which I downloaded to illustrate the miracle that took place almost 28 years ago now. We were at Pageant with our three (at the time) kids and my mom. Three adults + three kids: easy, right? Each of us thought one of the other of us had Rachel, only a toddler at the time, but, you guessed it, no one had her. I ran like a chicken with her head cut off wildly looking and calling. Rich went directly to the front of the crowd, where the stage began, which had a slight elevation, said a prayer, then looked out over the crowd (it was dusk and the people were milling about everywhere). His eyes immediately zoomed in on her tiny figure at the outskirts of the seating area, all alone. He raced back to her, scooped her up in his arms and wiped away the small tear sliding down her cheek. What a blessing to have found her so quickly (or at all!) in that mass of humanity! We will never forget.
Making Life an Art 
I can’t read these things without my own stomach clenching. A co-worker of mine who has six daughters aged 12 and under was telling me about his trip to the state fair recently. I asked if he had enjoyed it and he said “Well, not really.” He said keeping track of six children in the midst of the crowds was really stressful. I can well imagine.
We didn’t learn our lesson…or, maybe we DID learn that we have access to Divine Protection! We just took our 5 oldest (ages 6-11) grandchildren to Walt Disney World for 5 days this past August. We dressed them all in matching neon T-shirts each day, which helped tremendously to keep track. We made it through will all children returned safely to their parents. (I was amazed at the faith of the parents–both sets–who let us take them!)
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