Man, it’s weird when your life gets turned upside down from what you thought it was going to be. Talk about the need to cling to the Lord! He really is the only constant in my life. People and circumstances change unexpectedly in ways that I can’t predict or control, and they make relying on anything other than the Lord difficult. His consistency is my saving grace.
In one of Elder Christofferson’s talk, he says, “How much better it is to know the truth than to be tossed to and fro …” Exactly. At least when you know the truth, whether it be good or it be bad, you can make educated decisions for yourself. Not knowing, and being tossed to and fro, is exhausting, drains my spirit, and, as I have recently learned, makes me physically ill. It is not good for my health. It is no wonder the Lord has urged, “Just stay close to me.” It is a difficult task to walk in full faith, to remove my reasoning of things, to plunge into the unknown and walk a path that I can’t necessarily see. It feels like walking in the dark, but I know the Lord guides my every step if I allow Him. He reassures me to trust Him, that He will take care of the things I cannot. Trust Him.
President Nelson has encouraged us to pray to find out the debris in our lives that we need to discard. I have always felt that idea to be a little harsh, but as I have pondered it more, I have come to realize that ‘debris’ doesn’t have to mean people in their entirety, but can mean certain situations with people. Debris, to me, seems more about feelings, and in my case health, both physical and spiritual. Rid ourselves of those things which make us unhealthy, physically and spiritually; that is my new idea of ‘debris’.
I keep telling myself that it’s a learning process. Really, that is why we are here, to learn and to grow, to ultimately become. The other day, while walking to a meeting for work, it occurred to me the lessons in longsuffering that are meant to be learned. But why? That is the question I privately sent up to Heaven while I walked. Why I am needing to learn all of these difficult things?
God is longsuffering in this mortal process of life with His children. He knows heartbreak deeper than any of us. He must know how to keep hope alive despite the heartbreak so as to not fall into despair. He loves His children deeply, as we do ours, and hurts when we hurt, and cries when we cry. Often, we make decisions that take us weaving along our paths back to Him. He must be patient. He must be longsuffering. It is a learning process. One in which takes practice and patience. I am learning.
Forever grateful.
