"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." ~Galatians 6:2
"In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." ~John 16:33
"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." ~D&C 68:6
". . .Be faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and I will encircle thee in the arms of my love. Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. . .I am the light that shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not. . . .Therefore, fear not little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail. . . .Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not." D&C 6:20-21;34;36 (italics added)
There have been so many reasons to be happy--to "be of good cheer"--lately, but, as life seems to balance out this way, there have been a lot of distractions to discourage as well. I have had the shortened version of that last scripture, with one little word change, "Therefore, fear not little [family];", etc, in my wallet for more than 2 years. And someday, I will have it up on the wall in our family room in some form or another (I'm afraid that in the 2 years we've lived in our house, home decorating has taken a major back seat to other time and financial expenditures).
There is so much in the world to distract from and detract from the Gospel and the family. Part of the reason that that word change came to me ("flock" to "family) is that neither myself nor my husband is very good at reaching out. We have a wonderful network of people (both family and friends) who try very hard to be supportive and are wonderful to us, but I'm afraid that often they don't know what kind of support to give, because we aren't very good at making known what is needed. We don't always know how to form meaningful, close relationships, even with family members, and so we rely not just primarily but at times nearly exclusively on each other. We are anchored and lifted in our marriage and our devotion to our children, all of which succeeds only on our willingness to be devoted to the Savior and His Gospel. When we stumble in those things, everything else is harder.
The last few years have been a very bumpy road with work, family, friends, losses and surprises. The last few weeks have been, in many ways, perhaps the most stressful we have known our entire life together. A few days ago I was reminded by my YW about how often they have to hear a few scriptures from me, how I seem to find a way to work them in to almost every lesson I teach. And it so happens that those scriptures are about taking care of each other, trusting in the Lord and not fearing the future, and being a good cheer. I was humbled and grateful to have these precious, beautiful daughters of God whom I love remind me to live the lessons I taught, a reminder they probably didn't know I very much needed.
After a temper tantrum last week over--what was it?--a combination of boredom and restlessness, a to-do list I keep ignoring, and legitimate reasons for frustration, I thought, I've got to have this baby and get my hormones back in check, because this creature we're all living with right now isn't me. But since it is likely at least another 6 long weeks until I have the baby (and more likely more than 7), then start the process of leveling out, trying to find a sleep schedule, juggling three kids, etc, I decided I can't wait that long. I thought to myself, what happens when the one who usually does the steadying needs to be steadied? Who do we turn to then? Just as I was about to slip into this frustrated, pointless debate with myself over what I need to do to fix myself, a gentle reminder came from young women who love me and pay more attention than I usually think they do. Obviously, I am human. Something I make dreadfully obvious more often than I'd like to discuss. But there is One who truly is always steady, constant. The ancient command is employed daily still, "Peace; be still." All I need to do is give of my love and time more devotedly and trust that all is in His hands. What better reason to be of a cheerful temperament is there than that?
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