A Prayerful Pause

Some days are hard for no reason at all.  Or at least no reason that I think is good enough.  And on some of these days I remember to pause, and to pray.  This doesn't always work.  Not because God isn't listening, but because I'm too busy letting myself be overwhelmed by my feelings.  I am feeling sorry for myself, or feeling unsure of what is best to do, and really just feeling so many things at once that I fail to stop, and really think of who I am talking to, how much He loves me, and how powerful He is.

Today, I remembered to stop, kneel down, and imagine myself going to talk to Heavenly Father.  Today I imagined myself crawling into heaven crying and begging Heavenly Father to just let my Savior hold me for a minute and tell me everything will be alright.  And I imagined Jesus doing just that.  And then, almost immediately, I knew that I was okay.  I remembered that it isn't my job to save the world.  That job has been taken care of.  I remembered that my Father in Heaven loves me and that He is never tired, or unsure.  I do not have to have the solutions because I know God, and when I come crawling, or running, or even just searching for Him, He is there waiting to help.

So, when my over the top feelings want to drown me, I am thankful that I can take a prayerful pause, and though I might begin by going to visit in my imagination, I get very real help from the Father who really did send Jesus to save me.

*Photo by Christian Widell on Unsplash

Easter Week: Friday -- Cruelty and Pain

The Crucifixion by Harry Anderson
Used by permission from theChurchofJesusChrist.org

When my children were younger we took them up to Salt Lake to see The Testament:  Of One Fold and One Shepherd.  There are scenes during the movie that show people being cruel to Christ.  They show Him nailed to the cross, and in pain.  When I looked over at one of my daughters, she had her head down, with her eyes tightly shut and her hands covering her ears.  She is a sweet and loving person.  Watching the Jesus in the film suffer was too much for her.  I can only imagine how much pain and sorrow Jesus' mother felt as she saw her own son suffer such agony.

Sometimes in this life we may suffer cruelty.  We will have pain.  There is no doubt that Jesus understands what that feels like.  He knows it is hard.  He may even want to hide His face, and close His eyes, and cover His ears and so He does not have to watch someone He loves suffer -- but He does not do that.  Like His mother stayed with Him, He stays with us.  He offers us comfort, and support, and understanding.  He may even take some of our pain, or strengthen us so that we can handle it.  Even if we are hurting to much to recognize it, He is there for us.

I want to be like Jesus.  Instead of avoiding having to see and hear a family member, friend, or stranger suffer, I want to be there offering comfort, and support and understanding.  Jesus has done that for me.  Family, friends, and strangers have done this for me.  Even at times when I have felt alone, and seemed to be alone, I hold on to the knowledge that the Lord is with me, and He loves me.

What To Do When Goliath Shows Up ....

...and David is nowhere in sight.

by Ted Henninger
from lds.org

Well, if you're me, you might hide in your room crying, hoping that somehow Goliath will just decide to go away, or that the King will send someone else out there to get rid of Goliath.  I might hope that I'm not the David in this story because Goliath is scary!

And what does Goliath look like?  Well, to me this week he was just hurt, or hurting children.  He was my own lack of confidence, and fatigue.  Goliath was fear, and my lack of faith in myself.  God would answer my prayers, but would I hear Him?  And I sympathized with the army of Israel who listened to Goliath for 40 days, and were afraid, and didn't do anything.

Still, David did not fight Goliath alone.  He said himself, "I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts" and he knew that the Lord would deliver Goliath into his hand.  And he was right.  With the help of the Lord David conquered the much bigger and more experienced Goliath, and with the help of the Lord, we too can defeat our own big, seemingly un-defeatable Goliaths.

*I wrote this over a year ago and found it in my drafts.  Yay for past writing when I am not coming up with other things to say!