Happy springtime! Here at home the skies are blue and the trees are a luminescent green. Of course, spring here still feels like a war between winter and summer. We've all been trying to shake an exhausting virus, but hopefully this week is the last of it. Since I was home sick for several days, there's not much to tell you.
I did want to share one insight I had while studying the scriptures. I was reading in Spanish, which sometimes is frustrating, but also makes me slow down and think about things in a different way. This last week I was studying in Alma where Helaman talks about the 2,000+ stripling warriors. Of course, I've read hundreds of times how these young men were faithful and fought bravely, and even though all of them were wounded, not a single one died. Usually I focus on the miracle that not a single one of these boys died. And it is a miracle. But this time I noticed something else. Every single one of those boys was wounded, and many of them passed out from blood loss. Somehow in the past that was just the end of the story for me and they all went home happy. But that can't be what really happened. How many of those faithful young men lost limbs? How many had wounds that caused pain for the rest of their lives? It would be so easy to say, "But I was obedient and faithful, why do I have to suffer? Why do I have to have my dreams ripped away from me?" No doubt many of those young men struggled to adjust to new lives with limitations. It would be so easy to be bitter. But they were faithful. I'm sure that was not the end of their struggles. I'm sure they spent their lives adjusting to lost dreams and expectations. I'm sure they poured out their hearts to God, asking for healing and comfort. This story gives me hope. Even these most faithful of young men struggled with heartache and disappointment and pain. And God didn't take it away. Somehow, it makes me feel a bit more like it's okay when we feel these things. They are just a part of mortality. The thing to do is to focus on the amazing miracles. None of those boys died, and that was a miracle. Are there times when I'm so busy seeing the wounds and lost dreams that I forget to see the miracles that brought me there? It's certainly something for me to remember.
I've also been watching some of the "Gospel Solutions for Families" videos put out by the Mormon Channel. It's been fun watching these videos (mostly MC Studio) pop up because I get to see names that I recognize from my bishop clearances. I played such a tiny part in the whole thing, but it makes me really proud.
One of the videos I watched most recently was especially helpful for me. I know this video is longer, but it is worth taking the time to watch. They discuss meeting your own needs, valuing the different roles we play in our lives, and learning to say 'no,' among other things. The discussion mostly talks about mothers, but you can apply the skills and principles to anyone. I certainly felt it helpful for myself.
Thanks everyone!
Love,
Sister Ward
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