"I was a stranger, and ye took me in" (Matthew 25:35)

#LightTheWorld #day11
The phrase "she was no stranger to pain" keeps going through my head. Perhaps it's because every single one of us has experienced pain of some sort, be it physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual pain. Everyone suffers. And the last thing I want to do is contribute to the suffering or pain of others.

Christ knows our pain, even the hidden pains that we experience. "And He shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people" (Alma 7:11). Because of His suffering, "which suffering cause [Him] even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit" (D&C 19:18), He knows what we are going through. Christ is no stranger to pain.

As I have pondered that we all experience pain, this scripture has taken on a new meaning for me: "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in" (Matthew 25:35). After enduring my own pain and suffering I know what a relief it is when I am offered comfort, a type of being invited into understanding, compassion, and love. I believe that we each have our own experiences we must endure. It's when we open our hearts to others to offer comfort and love that we can become strangers no more. Through Christ's suffering, He showed us the way to take others in, to feed them, and quench their thirst...and when we do, "no longer as strangers on earth need we roam" (Now Let Us Rejoice). This I testify.

"...God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence..." (Isaiah 35:4)

Hello World!

Today I have to share this awesome scripture with you and some of the thoughts I have had:

"Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; He will come and save you."

(Isaiah 35:4) 

When I read this I had to look up "recompense". It means "to make compensation for something; repay someone". The natural woman in me wants vengeance for my pain, suffering, for the losses I have endured. Do we not all want compensation for our losses? Seeking revenge, or being bitter about all that we suffer does not make things right- money, or things will not compensate for some of the losses we have endured. Being bitter, hateful, unforgiving, seeking revenge-well, they just makes things worse, and don't even come near to compensating for the losses some have suffered.

 This scripture says that God will come with vengeance (which doesn't mean revenge. It means "greatly; extremely" (vengeance)), even God with a recompence". God is greatly coming, even with compensation. This quote by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin helped me make more sense of the powerful principle of compensation:

"The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way. While it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today, will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude"
(Come What May, and Love it)

I needed this scripture today. I am trying to keep the bigger picture about some of the challenges I am going through- honestly though, it is really hard. Some days, at the end of the day, I am just so grateful I made it through. God knows what I have lost, what I have had to sacrifice and endure. He knows this for every single one of His precious children- this includes you. He knows exactly what we need to learn to become like Him. It is so not easy to learn this. But that is a different blog all in itself.

So for now, I will take comfort in this awesome scripture and the truth that God will compensate, even recompense for every loss. This I testify.

This has been one of the hardest losses yet...but there is hope for compensation....
and maybe to ride, even just a tiny bit, in the future. 

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28)

Day #29

I am so grateful for the encouragement this scripture offers me (because someday's just require a little extra encouragement).

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, 

to them who are the called according to His purpose" 

(Romans 8:28)

Christ Mocked  by Gustave Dore

We all have challenges, trials, and afflictions that we experience and endure. They aren't easy. And sometimes we have no idea why things happen other than to say, "bad things happen to good people". Hence, we all need a little encouragement and help to know that there is a purpose for our suffering and pain. I don't have all the answers, but if I may, I will us the words of Alma to his son Helaman: "...for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day" (Alma 36:3).

I can only speak from my own experience, that I do know God supports us and lifts us as we endure and put our trust in Him. He loves us more than words can say. I have seen and experienced that all things do work for our good as we love God. As I endure great pain and challenges I know that God's purpose is to enable me to return to Him (see Moses 1:39). I have learned things that I never thought possible as I have trusted in my God, and as He has helped me endure experiences I would not have chosen for myself (or anyone else for that matter). I do know- we are not alone and most definitely, all things will eventually, work together for good. This I testify.

"For with God nothing shall be impossible." (Luke 1:37)

Day #19

I am thankful for this scripture and just how direct it is.

"For with God nothing shall be impossible." (Luke 1:37)

I have to ask myself, do I put limits on God? I must also ask myself, is there something I need to learn by having God's help rather than just having Him do it?

I have thought about this a lot over the past several months as I have dealt with a very difficult problem that has completely altered my life. I have thought about why it would be great to have this problem miraculously disappear. And then I thought about how I have been forced to change various habits from learning to deal with the impact it has had on my life. I have felt God's love more often and openly than ever before as I have had to endure great pain. Through this, I have come to know that God truly loves us more than words can express. I am learning more about patience than I have any other time in my life. I am learning more about suffering and mercy than through any other experience.

If I were healed right now, would I be better and truly "healed" so that I am more committed and have more faith in God? Or would I just go right back to what I was able to do before, as if nothing had ever happened?

I am noticing what is possible when I am working with God. It's miraculous how changed I truly become with His help. Indeed, nothing is impossible with God.

Nothing shall be impossible with God.

God is giving me lots of opportunities to see things from a different perspective.

"Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other" (2 Nephi 2:16)

We all experience temptation every day in many forms- from what to wear, what food we will or won't eat, words to say, and how we will or won't treat others. In addition, what we watch and what we listen to, these just being a few temptations. We are faced with choices when we are tempted. Temptation comes in so many forms that I had never really even thought about. Here are some thoughts and ideas to jump start your own study of temptation and the atonement of Christ. This is not a complete essay, but some of my thoughts on temptation.

Having experienced a shoulder injury over the last 6 months, and finally to have surgery and get the damage repaired, I had never thought of "pain of body" as a temptation (Mosiah 3:7). But pain is a temptation to us. Pain can tempt us to take too much pain medication to relieve the discomfort we are experiencing. It can tempt us to respond in anger when someone hurts us or simply annoys us when we are not feeling well. Temptations come from "hunger, thirst, and fatigue" (Mosiah 3:7), these being my classic temptations to respond as a total jerk to the ones I love, throw in being cold and I am more than likely to lash out in anger or respond with impatience until those basic needs have been met. Temptation is all about choice. Temptation can also be a form of suffering or pain. It is sometimes very painful for me to have to choose between two good things. It was painful for me to have to choose between getting surgery or not. I was tempted to not have it at all. I am grateful I chose to endure the pain from surgery and  will endure the physical therapy that is ahead so that in the long run I will heal and be pain free.

But why must we experience temptation? A simple answer is this: "Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other" (2 Nephi 2:16). We, through exercising choice and choosing to act according to God's will, learn obedience. Christ also, through His suffering and temptations, learned obedience. "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered" (Hebrews 5:8).

God's ultimate purpose is for us to be with Him, to have "immortality and eternal life" (Moses 1:39). When we experience temptation we are actually going through a small amount of suffering, choosing to either be enticed by "the natural man [which] is an enemy to God...[or] yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and [put] off the natural man and [become] as a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and [become] as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord sees fit to inflict upon [us], even as a child does submit to his father" (Mosiah 3:19).

Temptation is part of God's plan for us. What a great blessing that we get to practice choosing how to respond and act as Christ would when we experience temptation because His desire for us is "that [we] should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect" (3 Nephi 12:48; Matt. 5:48).

"Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer..." (Rev. 2:10)

I have wondered about suffering. I don't like to see others suffer. I have a hard time watching anyone go through pain of any kind. I give money to others probably too readily. My husband is good about making me not bankrupt us, which would be a whole other problem if I did give it all away. So, why suffering? It can't be all bad either, because if there is one thing I have also noticed is that everyone suffers. Let me restate that. EVERYONE suffers. No matter how rich, how poor, how healthy, how smart, how good, no matter...everyone suffers.

So my question is, is there a point in suffering? I think there is and it is pretty simple really. It comes back to choice for me. With suffering there are really only two choices. The two choices are 1)Will I allow myself to draw closer to my Savior, the One who knows suffering, and suffered for everyone or 2) Will I become angry, bitter or indifferent because of my suffering and draw farther away from Him who has the power to make me greater than I can become without the trial of suffering.

As I look back over my life and the various things I have suffered, I realize that every time I went through something there was a better outcome than I had thought. Not necessarily financially better, or even physically better, but I have always found greater peace, more love in the long run, more compassion for others in the long run, and ultimately, more joy. In some cases, I am still waiting for those wonderful blessings, but I know they will come. They always do. The trick is to remember that my timing isn't always His timing (see D&C 64:32).

I think the scary thing is when I try to compare my suffering with someone else’s suffering. My pregnancies are pretty bad; I have what is called "hyper-emesis". It is a fancy way of saying "throwing up a ton". Each pregnancy was different...and my youngest son's was by far the worst, in terms of puking. But as I hear of other women who have the same thing, I keep my mouth shut because there is no contest when it comes to suffering. Pain is pain. I think what suffering can teach me is compassion for others. The trick isn't to say, "Well I puked way more than you did", but to say, "I am so sorry you suffered", even if they only puked once! The reason why...because this is what Christ taught. He taught that we should "comfort those that stand in need of comfort" (Mosiah 18:9). We all need comfort. Throwing money at the problem isn't always the solution either. But love, a kind word, a hug, even a smile..."When you have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it unto me" (Matt. 25:40).

Christ, who suffered more than anyone of us could ever imagine, doesn't turn us away in our pain. He comforts us and loves us. He knows exactly what we need to suffer so that we can practice those Christ like qualities that are in us and we need to refine. So, when I have the grouchy child at home who is refusing to do his homework, and I am in pain because of a headache, or whatever it is that I am suffering...it is a perfect time to practice developing my Christ-like qualities.

I know there is peace and joy for those who suffer.  We truly have need "fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer..." (Rev. 2:10). "For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Tim. 1:7). To not fear, I am not perfect, but I am working on it and I know it is true and it works...this I testify!