The Most Important Thing (2 Nephi 1:15)

March 28, 2006

“But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory,
and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love.” (2 Nephi 1:15)

This is a good reminder for me today. I start thinking of all the things that are on my “to do” list and I teeter on the brink of dropping back into hell—depression, discouragement, despair, panic.
So I take a moment and read this verse and it calms me. I remember that the Lord is with me, that I have felt His peace. I remember that being encircled in the arms of His love is the MOST important thing in this life—and I’m already there. Everything else is secondary.

My Lord Will Not Forget Me (1 Nephi 21:14-16)

March 22, 2006

But, behold, [sometimes I say/feel]: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord
hath forgotten me—but he will show that he hath not.

For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet I will not forget
thee…

Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands…
(1 Nephi 21:14-16)

This is so beautiful.

I do not know how a mother can forget a child that is so dependent upon her, so small and weak. You hold that baby in your arms, so close to your heart, and you are literally overwhelmed with love and compassion for that child. Your love for your child, the best interests of that baby, become the number one driving force in your life. From the day that baby is born, your entire world view is changed and everything is now judged based upon how it will affect that child.

As a human, mortal mother, I sometimes reach the limit of my abilities. Being human, I become exhausted or distracted, and my children, despite my huge love for them, sometimes suffer hurt or neglect because of my frailties.

But God has no frailties, nor weaknesses that limit His parenting abilities. He is absolutely the parent I wish I could be. I cry and He is there to comfort me. I hunger and thirst, He gives me food and drink. I struggle, He supports me. It is a glorious thing.

**

Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands…

How many times in each day do I look at my hands? I would imagine the Lord looks at His hands just as often as we do ours. And each time He looks at His hands, He sees a reminder of us, of me, of how much He loves me.

Poetry (1 Nephi 21:10)

March 21, 2006

They shall not hunger nor thirst,
neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them;
for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them,
even by the springs of water shall he guide them.
(1 Nephi 21:10)

Beautiful.

Glory and Strength (1 Nephi 21:5)

March 21, 2006

“Yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my
strength.” (1 Nephi 21:5)

“Glorious in the eyes of the Lord.” To me, this means that if you obey His commandments you will become glorious, or rather, you will have His glory bestowed upon you—as in “this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39)

“And my God shall be my strength.” God is my only strength. In all areas—spiritual, emotional, physical; at work, at home, as a mother, a wife. He gives me the strength to move forward.

A Bubble of Protection (1 Nephi 20:18)

March 20, 2006

“O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments—then had thy peace been as a
river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.” (1 Nephi 20:18)

I’ve learned some things about stress. Stress from the outside—job, kids, finances, etc.—doesn’t harm me nearly so much as stress from the inside—guilt, shame, etc.

When I am right with the Lord—keeping His commandments the best I can, praying and reading the scriptures daily, capturing, seeking His will for me, then doing my best to carry it out—then it doesn’t much matter what’s going on around me. I feel safe, like there is a buffer zone, a bubble of protection around me, a demilitarized zone where the enemy cannot get in to attack.

But if I’m not right with the Lord, I lose my protection and the slightest breeze of conflict or trial sets me in a tailspin.

And here’s something else I’ve learned. I don’t have to be perfect to be protected. I only have to do the best I can and let God take care of the rest. He will let me know, with a little twinge in my heart and mind, that I’ve stepped off the path, that I’ve poked a little hole in my protective bubble.

And when I repent, He seals that leak right up.

Letting Trials Refine Us (1 Nephi 20:10)

March 20, 2006

“For behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of
affliction.” (1 Nephi 20:10)

Trials and afflictions, in and of themselves, are not necessarily refining or ennobling. They’re just hard. What transforms them into a thing of value is our willingness to look for the lesson. When we rely on the Lord, put our trust in Him and allow Him to lead us through the trial, that is when our afflictions change us, refine us, strengthen our spirit, make of us a better person.

That is when afflictions make us humble, rather than bitter. Teach us compassion, rather than reinforce selfishness. Lead us to extend mercy, rather than insist on justice.

Without God’s help in our trials, without our trust and reliance upon Him, trials are just so much pain and misery.

Nothing Without God (1 Nephi 20:1-8)

March 18, 2006

1 Nephi 20:1-8, quoting from Isaiah 48. You’re going to have to look this one up. It’s too long to type in.

The Lord tells Israel that although they have made covenants with Him, they do not rely on Him as they should. Although He’s led them from the beginning, given them signs, they do not rely on Him because they are proud and stubborn. They attribute His power, the works of His hands, to other sources, to idols.

Oh, how like that we are today. How like that I am. When good things happen, I’m too eager to take the credit myself, or I chock things up to luck, coincidence, fate.

In reality, every single good thing in my life comes because the Lord created it, orchestrated it, gifted me with it. Everything.

He gives me the power to breathe, to move, to think, to feel joy, to learn from my mistakes, to grow, to become more like Him.

I think I finally understand the concept of being nothing without God, less than the dust of the earth.