Because He Loves Me

In the book of Hebrews in the New Testament, we read, "My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him" (Hebrews 12:5). In English that word chastening carries with it a feeling of punishment, but in the Greek from which our New Testament was translated the word means, "instruction which aims at increasing virtue." That settles into my heart a lot better than the feeling of punishment. We all, being parents and teachers, know the importance of giving and receiving instruction intended to help the person being taught, and when we are Living in Truth we welcome such instruction.

Paul goes on to say, "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby' (12:11). I say, "Amen to that!" Exercised means "the act of bringing into play or realizing in action."  So chastening brings about righteousness.

Paul also draws a comparison between an earthly father (12:7) who chastises because he loves his son and wants his son to grow up to be a happy, functioning, capable adult. If the father didn't think the child could comprehend the lesson and grow from it, he wouldn't instruct him. Likewise, God chastens because He loves me, and because He wants me to grow into a happy, functioning, celestial being.

As Paul says, no one likes being chastised, but the consequence of such correction is worth everything we endure. Being chastened means God loves us and that he knows we can do better.

For Good!

One of the interesting things about my recent adventure is listening to the doctors tell stories of other patients. They never revealed names, but I’ve been surprised at the number of stories they’ve told me such as the man injured in a serious automobile accident. That would at first appear to be terrible adversity. But in the course of taking care of his injuries, they discovered that he had a benign tumor (similar to Grizelda) in his spine and if left unattended it would have paralyzed him. But because of the accident, the tumor was removed before there were symptoms or irreparable damage.

Another story involved a two-year old boy in an automobile accident. The MRI after the accident showed a tumor the size of a golf ball in his brain. This one was malignant, but was removed before it spread and the boy’s life was saved.

Another story was of a man from out of state who was hurt in a snowmobiling accident while on vacation in Utah. No one thought he would live, but his wife insisted the doctors do all they could, and so they did. After extensive surgery, he was in the ICU of the hospital for four months and on the floor and in rehabilitation after that. By the time he left the hospital, he was a healthy 75 pounds lighter and had been introduced to the gospel of Jesus Christ which his whole family joined.

God works in mysterious ways. You never know when a flat tire has saved you from an accident down the road. You may not always be able to tell what good is coming out of the trials you face. But you can know that if you trust in the Lord and do what He instructs “all things shall work together for your good” (D&C 90:24).

Facing Adversity Head On

Today was one of those days when all you can do is hold tight to your faith and trust in the great wisdom and power of Jesus Christ. I was at girl’s camp yesterday and when I returned home today I received some devastating news. My daughter, Mariah, has been going through an in vitro process in order to get pregnant. This is the second time she has gone through the stressful, painful, emotionally draining process. On Wed. They harvested the eggs and fertilized them. The nurse from the doctor’s office called to tell her that everything looked good and that they would transfer the eggs to her on Monday. We were all so excited–sixteen eggs had fertilized and the prospects for this long awaited child were exciting. Then while I was gone the doctor called her to tell her that someone in the lab had accidently thrown the embryos away.

There is nothing we can do now, but practice what we preach. Forgive. Forget. Move on and trust that our Savior Jesus Christ will heal and compensate. I know He will, and that helps. But for right now the open wound is still hurting. Mariah is a woman of faith and that faith will get her through, but when I look into her face and see the sadness that I cannot erase my heart breaks.

Everyone at one time or another faces trials like this. There are times when nothing makes sense and there are no answers. All we have is the knowledge that Jesus Christ has promised to make everything all right. In Him we trust.