THANK YOU
to all my wonderful, fabulous friends and family. I wrote my floodgate post to release some emotion, and almost instantly felt better once I exhaled. I always wonder after I've posted something personal and instinctive like that if I shouldn't have. But then I'm always glad I did...because
1. It's MY blog and I can post whatever in the world I want to!!
2. I am an expressive person, where some people are very private, I find it more therapeutic to talk about things.
3. I have fabulous friends and family who buoy me up and give me courage and perspective to enjoy another day, and that is always a benefit!
I don't want my blog to ever be a negative depressing site. I'm real, and what you get from me is real! I felt like I couldn't post anything else. I was wading in the dirt that day and posting something fun and upbeat at the moment would have felt fake.
I had no expectations for responses, and wasn't looking for sympathy woes. However, every comment was so touching and kind!!
It turned out to be just what I needed.
The immediate thought that came to me was how each of you were:
Willing to mourn with those that mourn, yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort."
I really like this quote:
Neal A. Maxwell
"It is abundantly clear, therefore, that we have a duty to comfort others, to mourn with them, to serve them, and to help them. When there is so much to do to help others, there is little time for self-pity. We do not know all the details of the crosses others bear, but we know enough to understand that crosses are being borne valiantly. Moreover, the courage of others can be contagious."
(If Thou Endure It Well, p. 94)
I've always tried to be one of those who don't have time for self-pity...but unfortunately I don't think anyone is strong enough to endure any trial without a few breakdowns :)
Thank you
for taking time to mourn with me while I mourn.
There is both a natural and a spiritual depth to us, to the human mind, and it's tough because the big struggle for most of us is that we find it easy to let the natural, external aspect of our mind gain possession of the spiritual depths within and rule them.
Clearly, the Lord has a special agenda regarding our ability to cry and mourn, for often by doing so we will be led by our gentle, loving Savior into vital depths of growth and comfort.
Another scripture that correlates is
Matthew 5:4
"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted."
In Greek "blessed" refers to that true spiritual fulfillment and joy that eventually arise out of suffering and pain. I've never really thought about it in that aspect before. But this is just the kind of serious, vital truth that comes with God's Divine wisdom. There is a kind of deep, pervasive, eternal joy and strength that only comes via legitimate suffering and pain.
And so it makes sense that the Lord would say, speaking to the spiritual level of our lives, "blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
The hard truth is that a great deal of growth often happens to us after we've been through some form of suffering.
The refiners fire is what I always pin it as (and it gets blazin HOT!)
I found this story of a man who shares such an analogy with a poignant image from his childhood about the impact of pain and anguish in our lives.
"He was raised on a farm, and so he was struck as a boy at the sight of a good, sharp plow blade slicing deep into the soil, cutting through the shallow roots of things which made the soil ready for receiving seeds of crops that needed to be able to reach deeply into the dirt. Pain and grief does the same for us—it prepares the soil of our souls for the deeper seeds of truth of God that desperately need to take root in us. "[Sharp plow blades] sever any shallow spiritual roots. But disturbing the soil also prepares it for receptivity to new seeds of meaning…. In due season, some will flower. The deeper the plow goes, the deeper the new roots of faith can penetrate. Right after plowing, the furrows become tiny rivers when the spring rains send needed water. From a spiritual perspective, the furrows cut by crises, and losses can become channels for either the toxins of bitterness toward God (as often is true, at least initially) or the living water that nourishes life in all its fullness. Gradually, we can let the living water of healing love—ours and God's—flow through this channel in our souls."
Another part that goes right along with my thought is:
"There is another important element of meaning about how blessing happens for those who let themselves mourn or weep. Paul discussed it in his letters, which teaches that when we allow ourselves to surrender to our own pain and suffering while inviting others to simply care for us when we do this, gives us the Christian blessing through love of bearing one another's burdens. He wrote: "bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." (Gal. 6:2) Since humanity chose so long ago to make evil a regular part of our daily diet, God had to let us reap the many forms of suffering which that choice created. Ultimately, the Lord will have the upper hand, and will make good use out of our mourning and weeping—in part since He helps us to learn how to bear one another burdens as we practice the art of love.
Paul elaborates later on, however, how important it is also that we grow in inner strength to be able to carry our own loads. (Gal. 6:5) Christ taught how when we labor and are heavy laden that we learn how to go to Him in prayer and supplication."
Ultimately, I have found that God makes use of our suffering and pain in that it greatly helps us to experience times when we must cry out in prayer for His Divine help in life. Like my mother advised, we must chose to yoke ourselves with Him because He is the one constant and support that truly and ONLY knows what we endure. Such a response is more healing instead of responding by traveling down the road of bitterness and hatred. But for those who choose to surrender to those rivers of tears, and allow ourselves to grieve with God (or family and friends!) is how we ultimately find peace—for indeed the Lord has guaranteed,
"they shall be comforted."
I WISH I was capable of looking at life with the kind of LONG…AND I MEAN OH SO LONG…viewpoint that God has. We would begin to recognize that the fullest, deepest truth of life is that God is supremely concerned with our eternal, spiritual happiness and strength of mind—
our eternal welfare!
It is only because of this that we can tolerate the trials of our lives!
I know this to be true, and am forever thankful for the suffering I've endured because that is where my true growth has occurred, and I am forever better because of it. I know God is real, and that our Savior suffered the greatest of all, so He can lift us through our pain.
Tanner loved looking at the instructions and figuring out how to put his hand puppets together.
It was a great little project!
He was getting tired of me taking pictures, hence the sad face! lol.
We've made the Tiger and Monkey so far.
