Flowers Do Not Compete, They Bloom

"A flower does not think of competing with flower next to it... it just blooms."

//// So bloom on people, bloom on:) ////

Life Has No Remote...

LIFE HAS NO REMOTE,

get up and change it yourself!

I Love These Eyes!

This is just a thought I want to write down. Recently I have played a little game with my 3-year old son, basically, I'll touch his eyes and say "I love these eyes", then touch his nose and say "I love this nose", then his cheeks, and say "I love these cheeks", and I carry on until I've covered all of him. He always has a big smile on his face when I do it to him. Anyway, after a couple of days on playing our little game, I caught him in the chair stroking his arms saying "I love these arms", then onto his tummy saying "I love this tummy", you can probably guess how happy that made me as a parent to see my little man loving the skin he's in. The last quote I posted on here was about instilling a strong identity in your children and I really believe that is so important, because if children know they're loved, it's so much easier for them to love themselves, and then it makes it a whole lot easier for them to love others, and the cycle continues.

Today would be a great day to show and express love to those you do, too often (speaking for me) I assume that love is known, but why leave doubt when you can leave your sure witness:).

Without Arms

These are a few words from the Book of Mormon that have been drifting through my mind the last few weeks. You will probably remember that the Lamanites wanted to attack Limhi’s people, but after talking with the king of the Lamanites the record says the Limhi’s people: “…..went forth without arms to meet the Lamanites…” and “….when the Lamanites saw the people of Limhi, that they were without arms, they had compassion on them and were pacified towards them…..”(Mosiah 20:25,26).

I thought about the principle of 'without arms' with regard to relationships in general. We don’t come with the kind of arms that were meant in these verses e.g. shields, arrows, swords etc., but sometimes we come with other 'arms' that have been acquired throughout our life experiences like: pride, mistrust, impatience, an unforgiving heart, defensiveness, lack of self-worth, selfishness, and use these, we think, to protect ourselves from being hurt again.

I have had experiences where I have had these kind of bad 'arms', and each time I’ve felt horrible, as the result has never been an increase in compassion and understanding, nothing good has been strengthened or protected in me, but has only become weaker as a result. I have also had experiences where I have dropped the bad 'arms' I have gained and found that that is where charity has been gained and I have come so much closer to my God, and where beautiful lasting friendships have been my prize.

When we choose to be open to hurt, we really open ourselves to an increase in joy, trusting that God will be pleased with our attempts to be more like the Saviour who never comes to us with 'arms', but gives us His all, suffering all pain, just in the hope that we may choose happiness and a better way.

If we get hurt for loving people - so what! - really, what is the worst that can happen, so we may get hurt from time to time, but the Saviour will heal our hearts and we will love Him all the more for that, and we will be used to help so many more people to feel of God’s love for them because the Lord will know He can trust us, because we trust Him.

Re-posted from October 14th, 2008

Finding Solutions

Elder Dallin H. Oaks:
“We are often left to work out problems, without the dictation or specific direction of the Spirit. That is part of the experience we must have in mortality. Fortunately, we are never out of our Saviour's sight, and if our judgement leads us to actions beyond the limits of what is permissible and if we are listening to the still small voice, the Lord will restrain us by the promptings of His Spirit.”

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught : “We consider that God has created man with a mind capable of instruction, and a faculty which may be enlarged in proportion to the heed and diligence given to the light communicated from heaven to the intellect.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith).

It is a misconception to believe that we should consult Heavenly Father on every matter in life. He expects us to solve a portion of our problems without petitioning Him for potential solutions. It is through this process that we grow, develop, and become more perfect. He is not always concerned about mundane matters unless they are not in keeping with sacred principles. We should daily petition for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. With this presence of the Spirit, we will feel the promptings without petitioning Heavenly Father on every personal matter. This is the method in which Heavenly Father directs me. I have faith as long as my hand is in His that there are many things I don’t need to pray about, because Heavenly Father would tell me if I was going to be doing something wrong. I feel so strongly that members of the Church sometimes don’t act unless prompted, and don’t follow the Lord’s admonish to be “Agents unto ourselves”. We need to keep our feet moving.

Confounding of Languages and An Understanding Heart

You will probably remember the scriptural account of the confounding of the languages at the Tower of Babel, I like how Jared and his brother responded to that experience:

"And the brother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not understand our words.
"And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon Jared; therefore he did not confound the language of Jared; and Jared and his brother were not confounded.
(Ether 1:34 - 35)

I thought about how important it was for him to be able to understand those he loved still, and I wondered what would have happened if they hadn't prayed for understanding. It reminded me of when the Lord appeared to Solomon one night, "and God said, Ask what I shall give thee". Solomon could have asked for riches, power, longevity, anything. – what he did ask for is more impressive than all of those things…. Can you guess…….. he said:
"Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart ……., that I may discern between good and bad:"
"And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing".
(1 Kings 3:5-10).

I am going to try and tie this altogether now.

The reason for the languages being confounded was due to sin brought about by pride and selfishness. Sometimes in relationships it is as if the languages have been confounded when it is difficult to understand another's soul and perspective, whether it is in families, friendships, or any other associations. The only way to really understand another is to do as Solomon did; to lay aside any selfish wants, and to pray as the brother of Jared did.

I hope today that we will have understanding hearts to those we come into contact with, and if we don't, that we will pray until we get one.

Bind up the Testimony

2 Nephi 18:16
“Bind up the testimony…..”

I remember reading this scripture when I visited the island of Malta several years ago - I don’t know whether because I was in a place where there was so much ancient history, including temples which are older than the pyramids in Egypt – but when I read the words, “bind up the testimony” I thought about mummies.

In order to stop the body decaying once someone had died, the Egyptians discovered a way to defeat this process by drying it out, using basically salt and bicarbonate of soda, so that bacteria and fungi couldn’t grow, then they embalmed the body and wrapped it in bandages.

It seems to me that there are some similarities to ‘binding up our testimony’. The object being to protect it from decay, to preserve it, but unlike mummification not just to preserve and protect, but to foster growth. The way that we ‘bind’ our testimony is through performing good works, following the example of the Saviour who “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38), This can be likened to wrapping our testimony in bandages. But this is not enough, as without the preparatory use of chemicals decay still occurs, albeit at a slower rate. I liken this to ‘faith’; all the good work in the world will have little effect until our motive is our faith in Christ. Faith is the foundation, Christ is our Example, when coupled with Good Works our testimonies are protected from decay.

A bit of a ramble I know for just a few words of scripture, but I hope you are able to glean something from what I have shared:)

Gathering Daily

Do you remember the great lesson the Lord taught the children of Israel in providing manna for them which they had to gather daily? Exodus 16:4 says: "Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate (or portion) every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no."

They had been slaves in Egypt and had forgotten their relationship with the Lord. To teach them and prove them, the Lord required that they gather the manna every day except over the Sabbath. They could not collect it or store it. It had to be gathered every day. Spirituality, that condition of closeness with the Lord through his Spirit, is like manna to us. We cannot live well without it, and it must be gathered every day. It isn’t enough to have known, to have read, to have given, to have prayed, to have obeyed.

“If ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?” (Alma 5:26). I hope so:)

Search & Rescue

Brigham Young explained this principle in conjunction with the celebration of a day of thanksgiving on 1 January 1852. He taught the saints this:

“[Y]ou cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit, and be preparing for celestial glory, while the meanest menial under your charge or control, is in want of the smallest thing which God has given you power to supply . . .”
(Brigham Young, “Proclamation: For a Day of Praise and Thanksgiving for the Territory of Utah,” Ensign, Nov. 1971, 41)

Recently I was reading about the Martin & Willie handcart company. I was moved by the response of Brigham Young when he was brought news of their plight by Brother Richards. He “reported that there were hundreds of men, women, and children scattered over the long trail... They were in desperate trouble. Winter had come early. Snow-laden winds were howling across the highlands... Our people were hungry; their carts and their wagons were breaking down; their oxen dying. The people themselves were dying. All of them would perish unless they were rescued.”

The next morning Brigham Young stood in the tabernacle at the start of conference and said: “ ‘I will now give this people the subject and the text for the Elders who may speak... It is this... Many of our brethren and sisters are on the plains with handcarts, and probably many are now seven hundred miles from this place, and they must be brought here, we must send assistance to them. The text will be, “to get them here.”

“ ‘That is my religion; that is the dictation of the Holy Ghost that I possess. It is to save the people...

“ ‘I shall call upon the Bishops this day. I shall not wait until tomorrow, nor until the next day, for 60 good mule teams and 12 or 15 wagons. I do not want to send oxen. I want good horses and mules. They are in this Territory, and we must have them. Also 12 tons of flour and 40 good teamsters, besides those that drive the teams...

“ ‘I will tell you all that your faith, religion, and profession of religion, will never save one soul of you in the Celestial Kingdom of our God, unless you carry out just such principles as I am now teaching you. Go and bring in those people now on the plains’."

(in LeRoy R. Hafen and Ann W. Hafen, Handcarts to Zion [1960], 120–21).

Teams were rallied immediately, and lives were saved.

The phrase which has stayed in my mind is: “Go and bring in those people now on the plains”.

There are many people who are on the plains spiritually, but also emotionally, socially, physically and temporally. There are people within in our own families, and amongst our friends who are desperate to be brought in from the plains, and they lack the resources to be able to make it alone. They need our love and sensitivity, and sometimes our practical assistance. There are many organizations under the banner of “Search & Rescue”, what a wonderful title, one that is at the heart of the gospel.

There is One who gave us the perfect example to follow. He is able rescue us daily from pride, for He offers humility; hopelessness, for He instils hope; anger, for He fills us with His love. He says:

“Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.”
“... that I might draw all men unto me,...”
(3 Nephi 27:13 – 14)

I hope that we can follow our Saviour by searching for those who are "in want of the smallest thing which God has given you power to supply", that we too will be able to say: "that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me,... that I might draw all men unto [him],...".

Distractions

Nephi had just received the interrpretation of the dream his father had seen, and it says he had "seen all things".

I bet he would have loved to come home, maybe take some time to internalize what he had seen and felt, maybe share with his family some of the parts - just dwell in the Spirit.

Well, this is what he came back to:

"And it came to pass that I behled my brethren, and they were disputing one with another concerning the things which my father had spoken unto them".
"And I Nephi was grieved becasue of the hardness of their hearts...."
(1 Nephi 14:2,4)

Maybe we've all had times like this when we have felt the spirit, or the Lords love, and something has happened which seems determined to drive out feelings of peace, and to encourage us to question what we have felt. A few verses later it says "after [Nephi] had received strength" he spoke to his brethren about it. I take comfort in this experience, that this is a pattern which sometimes happens, and if we feel like there a million other people have felt that too, that we too will receive strength. We must never forget what the Lord tells us, other peoples opinions can't change that, and the Lord will give us strength to help them too, when the time is right.

Conference Learning Pt 1 - Turning and Looking

Nephi and Lehi were travelling to the land of Nephi when they were captured by the Lamanites and thrown into prison. Whilst in prison they were encircled by fire, but unharmed, the Lamanites couldn’t kill them and the prison walls then began to shake, but did not tumble. The sky then changed, and the land was overshadowed with a cloud of darkness, and they heard a voice coming from above the darkness that said:

“……Repent ye, repent ye, and seek no more to destroy my servants whom I have sent unto you to declare good tidings.
“And it came to pass when they heard this voice, and beheld that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul—
“And notwithstanding the mildness of the voice, behold the earth shook exceedingly, and the walls of the prison trembled again, as if it were about to tumble to the earth; and behold the cloud of darkness, which had overshadowed them, did not disperse—
(Helaman 5:29 - 31)

They heard the voice a further two times, but still the darkness did not disperse.

“Now there was one among them who was a Nephite by birth, who had once belonged to the church of God but had dissented from them.
“And it came to pass that he turned him about, and behold, he saw through the cloud of darkness the faces of Nephi and Lehi; and behold, they did shine exceedingly, even as the faces of angels. And he beheld that they did lift their eyes to heaven; and they were in the attitude as if talking or lifting their voices to some being whom they beheld.
“And it came to pass that this man did cry unto the multitude, that they might turn and look. And behold, there was power given unto them that they did turn and look; and they did behold the faces of Nephi and Lehi.
(Helaman 5:35 - 37)

I thought about these verses in relation to General Conference. The Lamanites had obviously witnessed the miracle of fire encircling Nephi & Lehi, and them being unharmed, and they heard the voice of God from Heaven also, but the darkness which had come upon them still didn’t lift. They were directed to “turn and look” upon the faces of the prophets, and only as they did this and followed their teachings, developing faith in Christ, did the cloud disperse.

My prayer is that as we go to Conference this weekend that we will “look” for the 'still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper,' that we will “turn” to the Prophets and Apostles and hear the words the Lord wishes to speak to us, that any clouds of darkness we may be experiencing may also be lifted.

How blessed we are to have the technology that allows us to hear the Lords words, firsthand, from the lips of our Prophets.

En-route Thanksgiving

In 1 Nephi 2 the Lord commands Lehi to take his family from Jerusalem, leaving behind their inheritance, gold & silver and go into the wilderness, to the promised land. They come to the edge of the red sea, and after traveling for three days, pitch their tents. I love what happened next:

“And it came to pass that he built an altar of stones, and made an offering unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto the Lord our God.”
(1 Nephi 2:7)

I love that. Lehi didn’t wait to give thanks until he had ‘arrived’ at his destination, but stopped en-route regularly (see 1 Nephi 5 & 7), to give thanks. I am sure when we are promised something or are seeking for a particular blessing or gift, when it is finally received we give thanks, but how many times do we stop en-route to give thanks for the journey we are taking – I know I need to do sooo much better with that. There are always offerings of a broken heart and contrite spirit to give along the way, and figurative altars to build, where we can stand still and thank the Lord for being with us on the journey.

So much to be thankful for, and thank goodness we have today to remember our blessings.

Daily Priorities

I worked in a temple office in Europe for several years and so I would have to show my temple recommend to enter each day. One week I wasn’t at work from Friday until Tuesday, so my recommend hadn’t been used between those days, and when I got to work on Tuesday morning I had to have a bit of a hunt for it in my wallet, as it had worked it’s way down to underneath my bank card and library card, those being the cards I had used most recently.

I thought about that in relation to the account of the children of Israel in the wilderness, and how the Lord provided substance for them during their journey. It says:

“Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.”
(Exodus 16:4)

The Lord could’ve rained enough ‘bread from heaven’ to last a week or a month at a time, but chose to only send down enough to last the day. He wants us to remember Him and have daily experiences where we know that we need Him, and that He will daily provide for us.

Whilst my recommend being under those two other cards bears no eternal significance, it just reminds me that it’s easy to sometimes put other things first in our lives. Life can get so hectic; we have meetings to go to, errands to run, family to support, friendships to develop, problems to solve, assignments to get done, callings to serve in etc. etc. etc., whilst these are 'good' things in and of themselves, if we are neglecting our personal relationship with the Saviour, developed mainly through personal prayer and scripture study - then application, it becomes more and more hidden, and life becomes harder and harder as a result - the good covers the great, instead of the great UNcovering the good.

So, I suppose what I am saying is that I hope that our daily priority will be our relationship with the Saviour, as all the other things really do take care of themselves, because He will take care of us if we do.

Another Journal Entry - Happiness!

I just re-read this that I had written from September 2005. As I read it it reminded me that I need to do that again, to take joy in the little things that happen all the way throughout the day, and record them, because it is so easy to not even recognise how awesome your life is! Here it is:

“And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness.”
(2 Nephi 5:27)

I thought about that scripture when I woke up yesterday, and made it my goal to ‘live after the manner of happiness’ that day. So as I lay in bed coming around to consciousness (which sometimes takes me a while!) I decided to count the number of times I felt happy that new day - after 200 times I stopped counting, but kept feeling happy. I had counted things like:

Singing in the shower, hugging a stranger in the supermarket, pointing the shower head the wrong way and spraying myself in the face (which I have done umpteen times before!), skipping and running through the park with the kiddies, jumping up and down on the bed and then falling off because I was laughing so hard (which also kept me laughing for hours after!), remembering ‘June memories’, driving with the windows in the car down and singing at the top of our voices and seeing other drivers laugh at us, seeing the sun shining on a beautiful flower, smelling freshly cut grass, flopping on my bed with fresh crisp sheets on, reading my Book of Mormon, having a gospel conversation, doing research for something I’m writing, getting an email from a friend, feeling needed, receiving a thank you from a stranger, remembering my testimony, making a present for someone, basking in the sun, looking at a picture a young woman painted of me, reading a card another young woman had sent me, wearing a yellow t-shirt that reminds me of my mum, finding a pair of trousers which I thought I had lost as they were too small – only to discover they now fit:), wearing some fluffy socks, feeling peace, looking at a bag I had made on Saturday night (it's sooo lush!)and laughing at fighting with me friend over bits of material for it, reminiscent of my mum:), counting the flowers in my bedroom, doing a handstand (which is something that you all would’ve found very funny if you had seen it too!), saying my prayers, praying sincerely for a couple of people and feeling how much Heavenly Father loves them, pretending to conduct an orchestral piece for my sister & dad, finding accommodation near to the temple in Denmark for me to stay in, cleaning my sisters room, doing a boy push-up, seeing if I could walk from the lounge to end of the garden with my eyes closed, playing songs on the piano, meeting a baby's gaze, oh oh oh, and I went in a shop yesterday and there was some music playing in the background, and there was a baby boy, about 18 months old, whose head was bobbing in time to the music, with the kind of rhythm I could only dream of having:).

Well, those are just the ones which came to mind first off – so you can see how I got to 200 so quickly. I suspect that is normal, but I certainly didn’t recognize how many happy moments I had each day until I counted them.

I read this somewhere yesterday:
“First, we must visualize our objective. What is our purpose? The Prophet Joseph Smith counseled: “Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God”
(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pages 255–56).

I hope that happiness will be yours today also:)

Undeveloped Film

I believe most of what we need to know is already within us.

When N. Eldon Tanner was made president of the West European Mission in the early 1960’s he visited the missionaries in France. He told them that they were not really taking to their investigators some new and undreamed–of doctrine. “No,” he said. “Instead, think of it this way: all these people were exposed to the gospel long before you or they came to this earth. It’s all these in their minds and spirits, like undeveloped photographic film, your job is just to develop the film.”

When I was a little girl we used to have a darkroom in our attic as one of my brothers was very much into photography. I used to love going up there and watching the film develop in the dark. Just like an undeveloped photographic film, it seems to me that the way that we are developed is often in a ‘darkroom’ also. The times of greatest growth seem to happen at times of our greatest need or trial. It’s those times that we realise what is really within us, and what our relationship with our beautiful Saviour is.

I am so grateful for the times in the dark, but also for the times in the Light which is when I can fully appreciate what has developed within me.

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6).

May the Light shine in your hearts today.

Winning the Battles

Maybe some of you have wondered, like me, why the wars are recorded in the Book of Mormon. I am sure there are lots of explanations and things that we can gain from reading them. As I read Mormon 1 & 2 I noticed that the Nephites usually won the battles against the Lamanites, or else they ran away from them, here’s a quick rundown:

Abt 322AD
- There were many battles between the Nephites and the Lamanites, the Nephites won each of these battles.

Abt 327 - 330AD
- The Lamanites came into battle against the Nephites and the Nephites fled and went to fortify themselves against attack
- The Lamanties come again and drive them out of the next land
- Then there’s another big battle and a lot of bloodshed, the Nephites eventually win

Abt 345AD
- Lamanites attacked again and the Nephites fled again
– Then they were driven forth again.

Abt 346AD
- Lamanites attacked. Nephites won.
- Nephites attacked the Lamanites and won

I wondered why the Lamanites kept on attacking even though the Nephites mostly won the battles, surely they would’ve given up especially at the beginning when there were many battles and they lost every one?

I believe Satan deals with us the same way - just because we have beaten him, or a temptation one time, that doesn’t mean that’s it forever. Sometimes the battles are easy because the Lord is with, other times, we are ill-prepared and we have to flee to fortify ourselves, other times, serious damage is done. I remember not so long ago, thinking I had conquered a particular weakness, but realized that what I now thought was a strength was still be subject to attack. That was good for me to know. Satan is very persistent, and never gives up on us, but can never win, only as we let him – as we have the strength of the Lord on our side.

“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;”
“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.”
(Alma 13:28 - 29)

Tools from the Rock

The story of Nephi being commanded to build the ship has always been one of my favorite stories in the Book of Mormon. The Lord had told Lehi and his family to get to the promised land, and he told Nephi how that journey would be possible:

“And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters.”
(1 Nephi 17:8)

To build his ship, he knew he would need to right tools, and this is where he went to get them:

“And it came to pass that I did make tools of the ore which I did molten out of the rock.”
(1 Nephi 17:16)

If we liken the ship to the type of life we lead, and the tools to the attributes that we have, the only place to go to make a ship, or a life, which is after the manner God has in mind for us, is to go to the Rock, our Redeemer, this is the only place we can go to find the tools of love, peace, kindness, longsuffering, patience, faith, that will help us to build a life that ensures our journey will be a happy one for us. This we can control.

I am grateful for the Book of Mormon and for the Comforter which enlightens our minds and brings understanding along the way.

With best wishes for a beautiful day.

How Not to Drown

This is an entry from my journal from a few years ago:

This is probably going to be one of my thoughts where you think – “Sarah, you think way too much!”

Nevertheless, here I go again!

I went swimming yesterday, and those of you who know me well, know that the water and I are not the best of friends. People keep telling me that you can’t drown if you relax, as you will just bob to the top. As yet, that theory remains unproven and is just a ‘nice story’ as far as I am concerned. However, last night I did make some headway and was a lot more relaxed, and did notice that the more I let the water carry me, the easier it was, and a lot more enjoyable (I’m even considering not doing my usual deathbed repentance before stepping into the pool next week:).

Well, as I was a kicking and a splashing this familiar scripture kept coming into my mind:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
(Matthew 11:28 - 30)

Just as I had to trust the water to carry my heavy body, so must we trust the Lord with our heavy burdens. He is eager to take them from us, and as we let go of our fears and worries He will carry us, life will be easier and more enjoyable also. I really have a firm testimony of this, and no matter how unnerving it can feel to let everything go to the Lord there is no feeling, or freedom, like it. I know He will never fail us, He is the Living Water who keeps us safe.

I hope you have a really great day!

A Little More Personal Than Usual - Fellowship of Those who Bear the Mark of Pain

Over the last week or so my family has had the opportunity to feel the love of those around us abundantly, due to an out-pouring of love following our second miscarriage and my father passing away yesterday. It has really been over-whelming at times to realise how many people care about our little family. We had gifts (usually sweet:) left on the doorstep everyday, many phonecalls, notes, emails and visits, and now with my dad passing the same again. Often the calls of support were from people who had been through similar experiences and could offer the gift of empathy to us. This is one of my favorite quotes, and since these 'trials' it has been on my mind:

“One of Dr. (Albert) Schweitzer’s most important concepts is that of the Fellowship of Those who Bear the Mark of Pain. … Who are its members? Those who have learned by experience what physical pain and bodily anguish mean. These people, all over the world, are united by a secret bond. He who has been delivered from pain must not think he is now … at liberty to continue his life and forget his sickness. He is a man whose eyes are opened. He now has a duty to help others in their battles with pain and anguish. He must help to bring to others the deliverance which he himself knows.“Under this Fellowship come not only those who were formerly sick, but those who are related to sufferers, and whom does this not include?”

(Thomas Dooley, “Worldwide Fellowship,” Words of Wisdom, ed. Thomas C.Jones, Chicago: J. B. Ferguson, 1966, p. 150.)

Trials stretch our hearts wider, and allow us to experience more of the Saviours love. Because of this, it is our duty and privilege to help others in their battles too. Heavenly Father rejoices when we share the burdens of others and when we help others to open their eyes to see how much they are loved by Him.

I am thankful to have been blessed with a little baby boy whose sole purpose in life seems to be to bring me joy, for a husband who made waiting the long 32 years to meet him worth it, and for a father who was a giant in meekness and compassion, who loved my angel mother and now is reunited with her in heaven, never to be parted again. Above all I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ that helps you to see the silver lining to the trials in life and gives you the correct perspective that there really is a 'happily ever after' after all.

By His Power

Alma, in speaking to the people in the land whose families were previously in bondage to the Lamanites said:
"I say unto you, they were in captivity, and again the Lord did deliver them out of bondage by the power of his word;.."
(Alma 5:5)

The kind of bondage that we experience is of more of a spiritual nature nowadays, but the method of delivery is still the same. We are delivered by the power of His scriptures, the power of His teachings, by the power of Him - and when needed, He will deliver us again and again, until He has us back.