A Weed moment

 Time has passed and life goes on, but every now and again there are moments when the heart hurts with remembering - bitter sweet moments.  We all had one of those the other day when Lou sent this to all of us.  

Hi LouAnne. 

I was reading my scriptures this morning and remembered a letter that Lenae had emailed me years ago. I wanted to share it with you. She is such a wise wonderful person. Hope you are doing well!

Dearest Heather,

The other day, in my scripture study, I came across this scripture and it hit me really hard. It takes place when the brother of Jared and all their people had boarded their barges and headed out to sea. In Ether 6:5-6 it says:

5 And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.
6 And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind.

The thing that hit me about this is that Lord provided wind to help them progress, but the very thing he gave them to help them progress, also provided some very difficult trials! I’m sure it was utterly terrifying to be tossed on “mountain waves” and “buried in the depths of the sea”! I think we are given trials to give us a chance to improve and progress in the way the Lord has planned for us. He wants us to reach our destination of perfection, but we can’t do that without some very difficult learning experiences. 

Another thing that I loved about this section is how they got through these challenges. In verse 9, it says:

9 And they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord.

Whoa! That’s pretty hard to do when you’re cramped in a barge with the only light being from a small rock at each end and the only fresh air that enter the barge (which you share with all your animals) comes from a small hole that can only be unstopped when you’re not in the middle of a huge storm. I’ve found that often, I would rather question “Why?” than sing praises. It’s hard to be grateful for trials like these! I’m still not there most of the time! But I am trying. I am trying to find joy in the journey. I am trying to realize that at least, I am moving forward and being watched over.

In verse 10, it states that:

10 And thus they were driven forth; and no monster of the sea could break them, neither whale that could mar them; and they did have light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water.

We are known! Our pain is seen! Heavenly Father IS watching out for us and protecting us from worse things. We too have light continually, we just have to acknowledge and look to it for guidance! I am so grateful that Heavenly Father provided scriptures to guide us as we face “mountain waves” and being “buried in the depths of the sea”. I am so glad that we can liken them unto us and find nuggets of wisdom and comfort in them!

I hope you can find comfort at this time and know that your pain is known and He is looking out for you! I love you so much and know that you are going to get through this and it will be ok!

Hold tight to the light!!

Love,

Lenae

Right now we are studying these verses in the Book of Mormon for our Come Follow Me Sunday School lessons.  Weed hit the nail on the head with these observations.