he plants his footsteps on the sea and rides the storm
today in rs we were discussing sis craig's talk wholehearted. a lot of the talk was about struggles, challenges, hard times, yes, trials. i didn't feel inspired to say anything but there was a lot of people saying good things. one topic was what do you say to someone going through a hard time. christine who was sitting behind me said she was looking for something to say that would lift the burden of her sister-in-law who was dealing with a heavy grief. ana said something very touching in reply. she was crying and it made me tear up--it was the very true thing that sometimes it is just the thing to be with the person who is having a hard time because we don't know what to say.
as the class was drawing to a close anja (our teacher) had asked a question and someone was answering and suddenly i thought of my study this week of the jaredites crossing the seas. no, i thought to myself. that isn't really the answer to that question and the time is almost up, it will be weird if you say it. but i kept thinking about it. so i put my hand up and shared some of my thoughts and insights about that story. it was just this. when they had prepared all they got into the boats and left themselves in the hands of God. it says that God caused a furious wind to blow upon the waters towards the promised land. so the wind, was a blessing. it was what they needed to get to the promised land. it was moving them forward. but the wind also caused mountainous waves to bury them in the depths of the sea. the wind was also a trial. a fearsome thing. this duality of a blessing being a trial at the same time, is something i've thought about a lot these last few years. if there was no wind, the boat would be stuck in one spot, stagnating. unable to move forward. but there is no denying that the conditions of the wind were hard. it said the brother of jared praised the Lord and gave thanks all day and all night long. they were in the boats for over a year. i think remembering to thank God for the circumstance that we are in reminds us that we are in his hands and that he is moving us towards the promised land. it's humility and it's trust in him. also every time they were buried in the depths of the sea they prayed and God brought them back to the surface. their ships were tight like a dish. nothing could hurt them. there's too many lessons about life in this story.
after rs christine told me my comments about the wind was a real aha moment for her. she wrote it down and started to look up talks about the jaredites. i felt grateful that i had studied that this week and that i shared it. i feel grateful for the many ways God teaches me the width and breadth of his truths.
today our christmas choir multiplied what felt like ten fold. it was amazing. never have we had such a big choir. still only 4 altos though. haha. that's ok we have krystal.
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