Madhouse Miracles

 I would be remiss (especially after reading the admonition of the Savior to record sacred things as found in 3 Nephi 27) if I didn’t record the miraculous happenings of the “Madhouse” play this weekend.  So very many things go wrong…equipment failure (from sound system overlap to the darn cans of spray paint), shipping problems (the critical deer portrait not arriving in time and having to do some last minute running around), scheduling issues with families that both they and I didn’t realize until the end…but so very many things go right.  Just because we are doing the work of the Lord, doesn’t mean that the path will be easy.  No example in the scriptures would validate this.  Every situation that comes to mind is rife with doubt, complications and outright heart-breaking moments.  Hannah and her son; Daniel and the lion’s den; Nephi and his brothers; Abinadi, Moses, Abraham….the list goes on.

(from a post of my mom's)

    But this morning, as I lay in bed, unable to sleep, I started reviewing scriptures that I have memorized and one floated to the surface in a different light, illuminated by the context of my life right now: Isaiah 41,  think…it’s the last verse in 40 or 41, I think.  But anyway, it basically goes like, “and they that wait upon the Lord shall rise up on their wings as eagles.  And they shall run and not be weary and walk and not faint.”  I thought it meant to wait for the Lord, as in be patient.  But maybe it also means the serving kind of “wait.” I am anxiously engaged in some super amazingly good causes. I also am mindful of the “it is not requisite that you run faster than you are able”...which means sleep!  But we shall be able to run and not be weary…and walk and not faint, meaning those times when we need to slow down, we will not be lost.  I was grateful for this reminder and different way of looking at it. I know that my God is an awesome God and that He truly will honor all of the words that He has sent and continues to send through the mouths of His servants, from prophets to babes, through the Holy Ghost and the scriptures.

Some images from the play (courtesy of Beth Flick, owner of BFlick Photography https://www.facebook.com/bflickphotography )

Hope through Christ

Sometimes I have a hard time having underlying hope. Mentally and momentarily, yes, I can step into a hopeful space. But lately I've been really trying to pay attention to things that can teach me to hope more consistently.

When I read this scripture this morning, something occurred to me, a scripture that has echoes in other books of scripture:

"36 Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.

37 Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet."

(Doctrine and Covenants, section 6)

It stuck out to me that the Lord would put the idea of "hope" right next to references to His crucifixion. Then it occurred to me. Jesus Christ experienced the most brutal, painful unimaginable scenario ever: 

--betrayal of not only His nation but His friends;

-- taking upon Himself the redemptive task of not only experiencing all of our sufferings, but paying the price of every sin ever committed

-- hanging upon the cross in one of the most excruciating forms of execution...

... and then He rose again, with the releasing, redemption and succoring of billions. Shazaam!✨️💛

So when He tells me to trust Him, to hope, it's not from the inexperienced sideline of spectators. He's saying, "yeah, I know it's bad. But trust me, the end will be incredible. Just stay focused on Me. And keep hoping."

If anyone had reason to feel hopeless, it seems it would be Him, looking into that bleak future. But He wasn't. He demonstrated His awareness even on the cross, surrounded by hopelessness, that He could look forward to a bright end.

So I can trust Him. I love the hope that this perspective has renewed in my heart this morning. ♥️

What are things that bring you hope?

(This painting titled "Hope" by George Frederick Watts captures how fragile hope can feel.)