28 But that ye would
humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and
pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and
thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek submissive, patient, full
of love and all long-suffering;
29 Having faith on
the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the love of
God always in your hearts, that ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter
into his rest.
...whosoever shall
put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles,
and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.
Nothing Left
4/15/08
'How much longer?'
the question echoes,
And, 'Can I make
it?' is close behind.
They say I have to
care.
Yet I have nothing
left to give.
And so I mourn
Because I fail.
But at least I gave
my all.
And so I can rest as
down I fall
And hope in the arms
that will catch me.
Someone I know once
told me of a dream she tends to have when faced with an obstacle requiring
faith. It is as follows.
She is walking on a
path towards a great cliff, the top of which she knows is heaven. The path is
easy at first with pretty flowers along the way. As it goes it gets a bit
steeper and more difficult but it is still quite manageable. Then it becomes
more of rock climbing and requires all her concentration. It takes great effort
but she is doing it. Her strength begins to fail and she begins to fear.
Looking below, the rocks look like jagged teeth and she knows it will be her
doom if she falls and the thought of having to try climbing again after is more
than she can handle. She begins to pray and can hear the Father and the Son
above telling her to let go. Of course she cannot let go so she keeps trying,
climbing till the surface provides no more hand-holds and her fingers have been
bloodied to the bone. Still above, they encourage her to let go. She dares not,
but soon her fingers have worn down so much they break and she falls. She
mourns as she sees heaven get further and further away. Shortly before she hits
the bottom, the Savior catches her and carries her to the top. On the way he
asks her, "Did you really think I would let you fall?"
The scriptures tell
us that 'we know that it is by grace that we are saved after all that we can
do.' We can't save ourselves. We must be on the right path and continuing
forward as well as we can manage, but despite what my dad always tried to
convince me, we can't and aren't expected to be able to do it all ourselves.
Having obstacles that require more than we personally can manage are
opportunities to turn to the Lord and trust in Him. Trust that He will make it
right. Trust that He has provided the way to recompense the hurts against you,
that He will guide you in a way that will make even more good come from the bad
than you could imagine. Let His atonement give you strength and courage and
peace. He suffered for everything. Your sins and others'. The illnesses and
deaths. The heartaches and hurts and distresses of everyone. He knows. He
cares. And He is there waiting for all of us to let Him into our lives so that
He can help make it right even when the actions of others stand ready to tear
us down. Trust His guidance and when this mortal probation is over you will
find more than you ever imagined possible.
