Fear Not

I watch from afar as so much of our country is recovering from the massive hurricanes that ravaged their homes and communities these last few weeks. I cry for their suffering, I marvel at their strength. And for those who were fortunate enough to still have homes standing...I watch them reaching out and working hard to help those who lost more.  It was Harry S. Truman who said...

This is being personified all across the Houston area and now in Florida and the surrounding areas as they need that same help. People helping people, calming the fears as clean up continues. Lives are being reshaped by both those in need and for those giving aid.  I truly stand all amazed and I'm humbled.

The truth is, it isn't just their problem, it's our problem. Because in America...United we stand. I bemoaned the fact that I can do nothing more than a widow's mite and my good son who lives in that storm tossed and drenched part of our country reminded me that not everyone can do everything but everyone can do something.

I encourage everyone who reads this to do whatever they can sincerely do, determined to do the job at hand even if it's but a widow's mite in comparison to those who can give more.

As The World Groans

The world is in chaos as I write this. Earthquakes, fire, hurricanes and tornados are ravaging the earth like never before.

I have observed through my long life of living through times of major earthquakes, devastating floods, droughts, wars and air pollution that after all the devastation the one thing that remains is hope!  Even if it’s just a whisper, it never seems to leave us and as Emily Dickinson contemplated, hope never even asks for a crumb as payment in return.  I am drawn to her poem “Hope is the Thing With Feathers” today.

“Hope” is the Thing With Feathers

     By EMILY DICKINSON

“Hope” is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops at all.

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chillest land

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

It was M. Russell Ballard who said “Hope grows out of faith and gives meaning and purpose to all that we do. It can give us comfort in the face of adversity, strength in times of trial, and peace when there is every reason for doubt and anguish.”

Sometimes, our hope is like the engineer that keeps us on track!  Gordon B. Hinckley reminisced:

“Long ago I worked for one of our railroads whose tracks threaded the passes through these western mountains. I frequently rode the trains. It was in the days when there were steam locomotives. Those great monsters of the rails were huge and fast and dangerous. I often wondered how the engineer dared the long journey through the night. Then I came to realize that it was not one long journey, but rather a constant continuation of a short journey. The engine had a powerful headlight that made bright the way for a distance of 400 or 500 yards. The engineer saw only that distance, and that was enough, because it was constantly before him all through the night into the dawn of the new day.”

Hope is right there urging us through this if we allow it right?  Many years ago I came upon this thought by an unknown author; “Real hope keeps us “anxiously engaged” in good causes even when these appear to be losing causes on the mortal scoreboard.  Likewise, real hope is much more than wishful musing. It stiffens, not slackens, the spiritual spine."

So as I watch and listen to what is happening in the world right now ~ be it natural disasters or man- made disasters I am doing all that I can to keep hope alive…so as not to let the many storms “abash the little bird that has kept me warm” many times before, that little feather of hope that perches resolutely in my soul.

Thomas S. Monson coached us in how to nurture this hope when he said: 

“Gaze Upward, Look Inward, Reach Outward, and Press Forward”.

Where is Heaven?

My grandmother was a young woman living as a missionary in Toronto Canada in the latter part of 1921 when she clipped an article from the local morning newspaper and tucked it into her scriptures.

Going through a box of her things the other day I came upon the article. The paper had become softened and brown with age but the message was still oh so clear and beautiful.

The name of the good soul who penned the article was not saved along with the clipping so I’ll have to resort to saying “anonymous” for the credit.

Where is Heaven?

A story of a famous American preacher is published in Great Thoughts. It contains no little truth. The question, “Where is Heaven?” was put to Sam Jones by one of his wealthy church members in Georgia, whose cotton crop yielded him some thirty thousand dollars the last year. “Where is heaven?” said the rich planter. “I’ll tell you where heaven is,” said Mr. Jones, “if you will go down to the village and buy fifty dollars’ worth of groceries, put them in a wagon, and take them to that poor widow on the hillside, who has three of her children sick. She is poor and is a member of the church. Take with you a nurse and someone to cook their meals. When you get there, read the 23^rd Psalm and kneel by her side and pray. Then you will find out where heaven is.”

Next day, as the preacher was walking through the village, he met the same wealthy planter, his face beaming with joy. He spoke after his manner; “Mr. Jones, I’ve found out where heaven is. I went as you directed me. We took up the wagon load of groceries and the poor widow was completely overcome with joy. She could not express her thankfulness. As I read to her the 23^rd Psalm, my heart was filled with thankfulness to God; and when I prayed the angels came, and I thought I was nearer to heaven than I had ever been in my life. I left the nurse and cook in her humble dwelling and promised her she should never suffer so long as I could help her.”

John H. Groberg said (and anyone who has seen the movie based on his life, The Other Side of Heaven, would surely agree that he can say with true conviction)….."Never underestimate the power of true love, for it knows no barriers. When filled with God’s love, we can do and see and understand things that we could not otherwise do or see or understand. Filled with His love, we can endure pain, quell fear, forgive freely, avoid contention, renew strength, and bless and help others in ways surprising even to us."

And it seems the perfect summary comes in the wise words of Thomas S. Monson:

“It is an immutable law that the more you give away, the more you receive. You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give.”