Stop and Smell the Roses

“Sometimes the weaknesses the Lord uses to strengthen us are in ourselves. Other times, they are in others. Shauna Larsen of Orem, Utah, knows how faith and love—and joy—can grow out of such trials. Thirty-six years ago in Maryland her husband, Joseph, was paralyzed from the chest down in an auto accident. He spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair. In spite of his disability, Brother Larsen served as a university professor, a bishop, and a stake president. He was a remarkable man of many achievements. While he lived, Shauna says, ‘caring for him was a total commitment. I lived in his shadow, ministering to his daily needs. And that was a challenge, because he was very active. No grass grew under his wheels.’

“But through her selfless service, Shauna says, she grew closer to the Lord and ‘saw more clearly his hand in our lives. I gained a more submissive attitude than I would have otherwise. Without question, I learned the joy of love and sacrifice.’

“When Joseph and Shauna faced their final challenge together—the prospect of his imminent death—Shauna pled in prayer for Joseph’s life, offering to take care of him no matter what his condition. ‘But it was not to be,’ she says. ‘I felt as though the Lord said, ‘It’s his time to come home; it’s your time to get to know you.’ We need to get to know the Lord, and I think we know him better when we know ourselves. We need to discover our talents and use them in his service. That’s part of the joy we experience in this life.”