33 Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great. ~ D and C 64
If you will remember I was having a gloomy doomy kinda week when I came across that scripture. I have lots of favorite scriptures and they become favorites because they are exactly what I need to hear or what I need to focus on. That scripture cleared my vision and put me back in motion. It put my feet on solid ground in preparation for what was coming.
I wish I could just say everything here because it is a super cool experience, but there is no way to do it. We don't live in the times like the founding of the church when covenants the Lord made between Him and specific members of the church were published. Can you imagine? Knowing what your friend was doing right and what sins he was committing? That would have been wild! My point is that I have to mention people and experiences that will have to be saved for my personal journal - so try and find it to get the full amazing story or invite me out to lunch and I'll give all the context and details.
Building upon my previous scripture- I then taught a lesson that had this scripture
3 Ye endeavored to believe that ye should receive the blessing which was offered unto you; but behold, verily I say unto you there were fears in your hearts, and verily this is the reason that ye did not receive. ~ D and C 67
We had a great lesson talking about what our fears are and how to replace them with faith. Soon after class I had to take Ethan to the orthodontist. I got him back over to the school and I was back in my car (I had left my phone in it) just in time to receive a call from Emma telling me she was stuck at her friends house and unable to get to school because her key batteries had died - it's an auto start car. It was 8:40 am at this point. She originally wanted me to just bring the spare key to school after they tried to get a ride from her friend's mom. I looked at the clock and thought there was enough time to get her the key and she would only be a couple minutes late and wouldn't have to worry about how to get back to her friends house after their choir concert. As I was driving there I realized that there was no way her key would keep her from driving. There had to be a back up plan. At this point it didn't matter and I could figure that out when I got there. Emma had taken me the long way to get to her friends house and I was teasing her about it. I gave her the spare key and decided to go the shorter way home.
This shorter way is the middle of nowhere way. On this particular stretch of road there is nothing but a lot of dirt with a couple of houses here and there and an occasional street. As I was driving along I notice a woman on the opposite side of the road walking in dress boots and a long skirt. It struck me odd and I turned into "Psych" for a minute and thought about wether or not I had seen a car on the side of the road. Then I wondered if maybe she was walking to a friends house. Because surely she didn't need help. I drove past and got the feeling that I should turn around and ask her. This is where "fear" or what I like to call rationalizations came into play. I made a nice little list of why I shouldn't. Number 1 on the list was getting robbed/killed. I also knew that there was little chance of me hopping in a car with a stranger if the roles were reversed. I soon came upon the round a bout and thought "this would be the perfect time to turn around and see if she needs help." Well, me being the stubborn child that I am talked myself out of it yet again but didn't make it very far when I couldn't take the overwhelming feeling any longer and I said "fine, I'll turn around and probably get killed."
I turned around and started heading back and thought there was no way she would still be walking. Some nice person already picked her up because they weren't having a fight with the spirit. Maybe she already got to where she needed to go. Well, as I crested the hill, there she was still walking. I prayed that this really was inspiration, pulled over, rolled down the passenger window and asked if she needed any help. She didn't hear me at first so I repeated myself and she said "oh, no I'm just walking to the courthouse." At this point in her walk it would have taken her over an hour to walk there in her nice clothes and heeled boots in the dusty dirt. I took a deep breath and said "it's a long way from here, would you like a ride?" She then told me that she was fine and didn't want to inconvenience me. I told her that it was on my way and if she wanted to she could get in and I would get her there. She accepted my offer and got in. I said another prayer that she had no intentions of harming me and asked her name and told her mine. She thanked me for picking her up because she had been waiting for her ride to get her and he was late and she couldn't afford to wait any longer. She couldn't be late to her court appearance or there would be a warrant out for her arrest and she just wanted to get it cleared up and to fix her life. Strangely I wasn't freaked out when she said the word "warrant." It was 9:17 am at this point and I asked if her appointment had been at 9. She said "no, it's at 9:30." That's when I knew. I knew why she needed me to pick her up. We rejoiced together that she now would not be late to her appointment.
We drove along in silence for a bit and I had another thought come to my mind. "You need to tell her that God was looking out for her today." My initial response to that was "are you kidding me?" How am I going to work that into the conversation. I decided that I had nothing to lose at this point because I was already the crazy person picking up people on the side of the road, surely I could say this too. So, as I was working my way up to telling her what I was told to, she said: "I can't even believe this, thank you so much, you are my angel." That's when I told her that "God loves you and he is looking out for you because he told me to turn my car around and pick you up." Phew, there I did it and I meant it and there was a tear in my eye when I said it. She smiled and said "yes God is good and I'm going to be ok because he's on my side today."
How amazing is that? When you look at the careful orchestration that went into pulling that miracle off it's mind blowing. It's amazing. It is so cool. It feels like touching Heaven.
That night while reading scriptures with the family we read from chapter 68 of D and C and this verse stood out to me:
6 Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come.
My son Jared said: "hey wait a minute, that reminds me of something." He then ran into his room and removed a plaque that I had hung on his wall that is a scripture found in Joshua 1
9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
I love how he made that connection. That's what growing and understanding line upon line is all about. Seeing patterns and connections. Seeing that verse in Joshua is testifying of the one in D and C and visa versa. That verse was also building upon the previous one found in section 67. The Lord was putting things before me to teach me something.
This miracle ended up being even more profound than I originally thought, but that's in the journal :0) But, look what can happen when we replace fear with faith. When you listen to the Sprit and trust and then act- you get to be someone's angel and then inspire and lift others by sharing it as well as drawing upon the experience yourself for strength.
I can tell you a little bit to give some context for my next miracle. A few hours after this giving a ride to a stranger happened, I took a blow and I was so grateful that I had just had that experience to draw upon and the added verse about "for I the Lord am with you." I was really wishing that I had a mentor that I could call and talk to about some things. My husband is excellent, but let's face it. He loves me. He is good at telling me the truth but he is also biased. I needed another witness. There was someone that I was wishing I could talk to because I knew I would get good advice and they would tell me the truth, but I knew that couldn't happen. Then my mind was brought back to a conversation I had a couple of weeks ago. Someone that I really look up to and admire, so much so that if she got called into the general RS or YW I wouldn't even bat an eyelash, I would say "yep, can totally see that." She called out of the blue and wanted to have lunch but to set it up for the 1st week of December. We set it up for Thursday (which would end up being the day after my miracle and knock down trial) When I got off the phone those weeks ago I thought it strange because I didn't really need anything at the moment. I was doing ok. Well, in the wishing for someone to talk to I realized that I had a lunch appointment the next day with this person. I thought it kinda cool, but it wasn't until the next morning while getting ready the thought came to me that I should ask her to be my mentor and help me through this particular situation. It was a tricky situation and I didn't want it to be taken or turned into a gossip session, I needed real and true advice and I knew I could depend on her for sound council. As I was wondering at the appropriateness of this idea the thought came to me that this lunch was set up and given to me for this express purpose. It was an overwhelming feeling and suddenly I knew that I was alright. I was even more alright after talking to my mentor. As further witness, she had the same thought when she hung up after scheduling the appt that I had. She was inspired to call me, but got confused when it didn't sound like I needed anything.
We ask the kids all the time "how does it make you feel to know that God knows all" or some form of that question. For me having this lunch date set up in advance of when I needed it, reinforced that knowledge that God knows all things. He knew what was coming before I did and he was prepared for it. It wasn't help in the moment. It was pre planned help. I can't even describe what that sure knowledge does for my level of trust in God. I don't need to fear, I can do all things because I know he knows and I know he's got a plan and I know he's doing what's best. He showed me this week that He really is with me and standing beside me. He's got my foreword and rearward.
I had set a goal for myself to work toward having more peace. To have more faith and trust in the Lord so that I could have more peace. I made a plan for how I was going to go about that. I made a covenant with the Lord to work on it. I can now see that He is orchestrating things in my life to help me with that covenant. Like I said, the story is even cooler than what I can say here. The question is this? Am I special? Can anyone receive blessings of this magnitude?
To borrow some lines from a song - because I love me some song lyrics
....I'm just an ordinary human
But I don't feel so ordinary today
I'm just a picture perfect nothing
Sometimes I medicate
I'll be a picture perfect human....
The invitation is extended to all humans - ordinary or not - 23 Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me.
Each experience I have deepens my faith, and it's like "I felt a switch in my veins." (to borrow another line from that song. I like that expression because it's something that is part of me. It's running through my veins providing me with life. The switch is like super antibodies being put in there that gives me more strength than I had before. It's like a more sure foundation. A lot of times I think I'm standing on Holy Ground but I soon realize I'm not as firm as I thought I was. We have to be standing there firm and solid because......
12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. ~Heleman 5
My mentor gave me some excellent advice about us all being in training for a marathon. We need to stay focused with our blinders on. Don't look back to see where your opposition is because it psychs you out and slows you down. It's so true. We are surrounded by opposition -some of it from unlikely sources, but it's there and we need to keep the blinders on, bid them farewell, and keep on running to the mountain of the Lord. What is so great is that we can be there for each other with cups of water and encouraging words. Even those who seem to be doing fine or handing out all the water cups, need that encouragement just as much as everyone else.
I bear record that Jesus Christ lives. He is the son of the Living God. He loves us. He's looking out for us. He knows the beginning from the end. He will protect us and give us strength if we confess and forsake all our sins and turn to him and hearken unto His voice.
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