I can get overwhelmed by the problems I see around me. Sometimes I will have an interaction that leaves me speechless and baffled by the things I observed. Sometimes I’m part of the problem, but at least then I can do something about it.
There are other times when my actions and attitudes have no part in the problem. The person is beyond my reach or beyond my capacity to help. At these times, I’ve seen the emancipating power of this phrase during prayer, “I trust Thee,” meaning that I trust the timing and manner of God’s miracles. For me, a frequent equivalent of offering loaves and fishes is offering prayer.
In Exodus 1, we read about two Hebrew midwives who defied the order of Pharaoh to kill all male children born to Hebrew women. Their names were Shiphrah and Puah (Exodus 1:15) and they have spectacular meanings*:
Shiphrah🌟: “Brilliant,” from the Hebrew word that means “to shine”. It also connotes “pleasing, calm, composed, beauty or loveliness; a canopy under which peace and stability may be achieved.”
Puah 🪩: “To glitter,” also, “splendid, radiant.”
These women were lights in a dark time because they feared God more than Pharaoh.
Therefore God dwelt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.
And it came to pass, because the midwives feared [revered] God, that he made them houses [households].
-Exodus 1:20-21
Here are two takeaways,
God dwells with those who love Him and serve Him. He blesses them well, along with the people they love.
Be a light to somebody today! Like Shiphrah, your light can be a place of peace and stability to a friend. Like glitter (Puah’s name meaning), your trail of righteous influence can remain long after you leave the room.
*Name meanings taken from the Abarim publications website. Emily Belle Freeman also contributed to my appreciation of this passage of scripture.
Grief lurks beneath the routines of life and finds its way out from time to time. This week I experienced a resurgence of some grief for Richard’s sister and my grandmother who both passed away 5 years ago, one day apart, during the first week of March.
As I studied Jacob’s dream recently, the detail of the angels stood out to me, perhaps because I have been living with these memories of loved ones. I like the imagery of the Lord directing and overseeing the comings and goings of angels.
Perhaps this dream is my reminder that the spirits of loved ones are busy, still progressing, and are allowed to minister to us from time to time, according to our needs and their life experiences, all under the direction of the Lord.
Jacob is experiencing a rough time. I like in this painting that more angels are coming toward Jacob than are walking away. He has a long path ahead, but it’s an ascent that leads to the Lord.
Maybe you’re discouraged about a loved one’s path and this image could be helpful to you.
Or, you might be the one in a wilderness, sleeping on a rock, looking for personal hope. I have seen that keeping my covenants with God really helps during these times.
As we keep our covenants with God, He promises great things,
I am with thee.
I will keep [protect] thee in all places whither though goest.
We know the story of the Flood and the covenant that God made with Enoch and Noah. In the Bible, the rainbow is the token of that covenant. We know it so well that we might consider it a great story to tell children, but find little meaning in it for ourselves.
When I read a little deeper, though, I find a beautiful lesson about God,
The Lord’s tears for the wicked who will suffer are as the rain upon the mountains.
Likewise, when Enoch sees in vision the suffering of the wicked in the flood, he weeps and thinks that he will never be comforted.
The Lord weeps for the wicked, but He doesn’t want us to weep, but look to the atonement of His Son and rejoice. Will we allow Jesus Christ to carry the burdens of our sadness, fear, weakness, and sin?
Heaven’s tears are as the rain, and the Savior is the sunlight that can cut through our darkness.
A rainbow reminds me of the Lord’s covenant. It also reminds me of a God who weeps, who is just, merciful, and sends light to shine through the tears.
Tears + Light = 🌈
A just, merciful and loving God who weeps + the Light of Hope in Christ = A Fulness of Joy 🌈
I made it out for a walk last night, but I decided to veer off my usual route and wander onto Charlene’s street. She was visible through her open gate to the backyard, watering her tomatoes. When I waved, she invited me back to see her yard, cared for by her wonderful children in honor of her late husband who always kept things beautiful. We shared an important conversation, and as I walked home, I realized that the Lord had steered me to just the person I needed. His timing was perfect.
While one portion of the human race is judging and condemning the other without mercy, the Great Parent of the universe looks upon the whole of the human family with a fatherly care and parental regard…He is a wise Lawgiver, and will judge all men, not according to the narrow, contracted notions of men…
For years, I noticed the palms placed in the celestial room of my nearest temple. I saw them as a symbol associated with the shout of Hosanna from the Psalms and Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Hosanna is used in hope and praise and means, “Please save us!”
Not too long ago, the palms in the celestial room of my temple were replaced with fig trees. Every detail of the temple can be a symbol of Christ, and these are just my reflections on the pretty plants in the room, and I don’t suggest any hidden intent in the change of greenery! The fig tree can serve as a reminder that the Savior will come again in the last days, or in other words, he answers our plea, “I’m coming!”
While we await a glorious Second Coming of the Savior when all will see him, I know when I pray for help, he is already moving to my aid. He gently reminds me that he’s coming. He’s already taken care of everything, but he is on his way to comfort me while I wait for resolution.
Brothers and sisters, now is the time for you and for me to prepare for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Now is the time for us to make our discipleship our highest priority.
Sometimes I wait for permission to do something that would make me happy. Here is a superficial example. My favorite color is red, and I love interior design, but red has been “out of style” for a long time. So, dutifully, after Christmas, I have ushered out most of the red from my house. This year, someone gave me permission to keep some red things on the shelves in January. Four red plates and my seasonal red seat cushions are all it took to make me smile at my January kitchen.
The trends are mainly fueled by consumerism, so here is permission, if you need it, to put whatever you love on your shelves. To ignore the trends. To ignore the noise that tells us we are not stylish enough, sophisticated enough, or tidy enough.
On another level, here is permission to ignore some of the calls to listen to podcasts rather than seek our own revelation from God about life, faith, and joy. Our time is limited. Do we want a life diluted by noise?
There is a universe of possibilities within each of us. It’s a shame when we allow the world to dictate to us that we are inferior and the answer is to chase after relentlessly changing trends. Here is permission to follow the simpler and better way.
My plea to you this morning is to find rest from the intensity, uncertainty, and anguish of this world by overcoming the world through your covenants with God. Let him know through your prayers and your actions that you are serious about overcoming the world. Ask him to enlighten your mind and send the help you need. Each day, record the thoughts that come to you as you pray, and follow through diligently. Spend more time in the temple and seek to understand how the temple teaches you to rise above this fallen world.
Meaningful prayer takes effort. My brain gets distracted, I get interrupted, and my lazy side recognizes that prayer is work. I try to improve, year after year. So, here is another post about prayer because I think about it a lot. Today, this post highlights the teachings of many people who have helped me to grow in my understanding and practice of prayer.
For instance, I like the tradition in our church to pray from the heart and begin with gratitude. I write down God’s tender mercies in a gratitude journal before I pray to remember who I am dealing with.
I like that my evangelical Christian friends and the patrons of the temple write down the names of people for whom they pray.
From the Lord’s prayer, I learn to praise and reverence Heavenly Father.
From David in the Psalms, I learn to lament and really pour out my soul.
I believe that when Christ said, “Thy will be done” it wasn’t just a statement of resignation, but an affirmation. When I express that I know that Heavenly Father’s perfect will is being done, this is a great way to reframe my experiences.
I learned from a Christian author Paul Miller to write down specific hopes for my children and to pray boldly for these things. I also learned from him to collect scriptures to remind me of God’s power and promises.
From C.S. Lewis, “I am often, I believe, praying for others when I should be doing things for them.”
I learned from President Nelson to pray with a pencil and paper ready, to write down thoughts and impressions, and then act on them.
I learned from Sister Becky Craven that those scattered, seemingly random thoughts that sometimes come during prayer are worth noting because the Spirit is communicating with us.
From Elder Richard G. Scott, “Knowledge carefully recorded is knowledge available in time of need. Spiritually sensitive information should be kept in a sacred place that communicates to the Lord how you treasure it. This practice enhances the likelihood of receiving further light.”
With these teachings in mind, I keep a prayer journal. It’s a tool that helps me focus, remember, and act. Currently, the format looks like this:
I keep my petitions on the left and answers and action items on the right. It’s also where I record inspiring words from scripture about God and prayer.
There are needs and dilemmas that carry over week after week, year after year. This prayer journal is evidence that I maintain hope for answers. This journal is also evidence that Heavenly Father is an involved, tender, steadfast, loving Parent.
I only use this prayer journal for one of my prayers each day. Other prayers I offer are more spontaneous and unstructured and often silent. All kinds of prayers are helpful for me.
