Miracles in a Coin Purse

 There are people who doubt or question God's existence because they have not seen grand miracles in their lives, but it is most often in the everyday miracles that God works.

Twelve to thirteen years ago, when I was serving a mission in Guatemala City, on a bright, sunny, and hot day on the coast, my companion and I had a meeting in a different area. While there, we stopped at the ATM to withdraw money because buses and taxi-like services were common. Before climbing onto the bus, I felt like I needed to put only the amount of the fare in the coin purse I carried, while the rest of the money went into the bottom of the backpack. I did not know why, but I did not question the feeling because I was accustomed to being cautious.

On the bus ride back, two men climbed onto the bus, threatened the driver, and stood at the front of the bus where they demanded money from everyone and walked past every seat. The first woman hardly had anything, and one of the men waved a gun at her, asking, "Is that all? Do you swear you don't have anything more?" I should have been terrified but was not. I simply pulled out the coin purse and held it up as they passed. The man took it, and then he did something that could have made my heart stop—he rubbed it between his fingers. There was nothing in there but two small coins. He should have threatened me the same way he did to the woman at the front. But he didn't. He walked past and continued to collect money until they jumped off the bus. I don't know if he felt money inside that did not exist or if he thought it wasn't worth his while to threaten a foreign girl, but what I do know is that it's evidence that God does watch after us.

God does not prevent bad things from happening all the time because he won't interfere with anyone's agency, and sometimes, he will allow them to happen because we need to learn something, but if a miracle like I experienced isn't evidence enough that he cares about us, I don't know what is. He is real. He loves us. He has not forsaken us.

Like A River

 

Several places in the scriptures talk about having "peace... as a river." 1 Nephi 20 states, "O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments—then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea." Isaiah 48 says the same thing.

I have been around rivers all my life, and I have never seen a completely peaceful river (although St. John's Bayou and the Mississippi are fairly calm on good days), so the more I read these verses—all of the ones addressing having peace like a river—I can't help but wonder what could this possibly mean? Will my peace be rambunctious and unpredictable, or my life be tossed about like the waves of the sea? Could it mean that I will have ever-flowing peace, perhaps? The latter supposition sounds more reasonable, but maybe, just maybe, the former does apply.

A river can be dangerous when the levels are high or when the wind blows. Some rivers have hidden dangers, such as large river monsters, snakes, or piranhas. However, if you stand and watch a steadily flowing river like I have, you realize it holds many beautiful lessons. First, a flowing river is more pure than a stagnant one. Although most water sources, even rivers, have impurities or bacteria that humans should avoid drinking, a flowing source is better to drink from than from a pool. Peace like a river must then be clearer or easier to understand. When we feel that calm, warm feeling, we'll know that we are feeling true peace.

Second, a river constantly moves items along. I once wanted to see how fast the river was flowing, so I threw a stick into the river to calculate its travel over a certain distance. The stick never sank and never stopped. It kept moving along with the river until it left my sight. I'm confident that the peace we can receive from Jesus Christ will buoy us up and help us keep going even in the crazy journey of life, aiding us to avoid getting stuck along the way just as the river moved that stick onward.

There is something else that a river moves but is underneath its surface: rocks. As the river tumbles the rocks, the rocks become smoother. I don't know if having our peace like a river means that things will necessarily smooth out, but the promise I hold onto from the scriptures is that the peace we'll have will be greater than we now have, and that sounds like a good promise to me.

Unfortunately, our lives are ofttimes unclear. The answers we want don't always come or they come and then turn into something else we weren't expecting. We might feel prompted to step back after we've done all we thought we could do and have seen some good results, only to see that our stepping back didn't yield the final results we hoped for. But we have been promised peace, and even if that peace is sometimes bumpy or unpredictable, at least it's flowing.

The Sermon of Faith

 "Consider the lilies of the field." A set of scriptures from the Sermon on the Mount, starting with these words, came into my mind earlier. They're a good reminder to stop worrying or, at least, to live life more fully. Starting with these powerful words and having all of those scriptures emphasized during the final talk of our sacrament meeting today, I put the lessons into a poem. It's strange that the messages during the meeting went from the priesthood to Star Wars lessons to the Sermon on the Mount, but all of it has a basis in exercising faith. The priesthood power is activated by faith. Luke Skywalker could not blow the reactor on the Death Star until he closed his eyes and trusted in the force. And how can we have peace if we are unwilling to leave everything in God's hands and trust Him to take care of us and our circumstances?

Tomorrow often sounds dismal and dark,

And fear and control never take a rest.

Worry holds us back from moving onward.

Maybe, just maybe, closing your eyes is best.

Leaping by faith into dark paths is chancy,

But, surely, not all that is dim leads to death.

The flowers and birds are fed aplenty,

They expect nothing and are, yet, given breath.

Why fear humankind, whose lives are short?

Why not move forward from failure and scorn?

Taking a step forth is all that's required–

The words will be given, and our burdens borne.

We are in the details of a larger work,

And some days it seems we are put to the test,

If the next step looks like the deep abyss,

Maybe, just maybe, closing your eyes is best.

Rejoice with Me

Lost By the Bay

 "And he spake this parable unto them, saying,

What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine... and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost" (Luke 15:3-5, 8-9).

It is easy to fall into the habit of thinking no one notices us or cares about us. It is more logical to consider the billions of people on Earth and say to ourselves, "Who am I? What good can I do? What purpose could I possibly serve among so many."

Oh, my friends, if we could only comprehend more fully how necessary we are—how marvelous, loved, and wanted we are. And I think I'm only beginning to grasp the concept.

Have you lost something important before? Something that you could probably live without, but it meant something to you? I have. In fact, I recently lost something I needed for work, and as much as I searched for it—I recleaned my bedroom, checked the bathroom just in case, looked in the dryer, checked outside, searched my car—I could not find it. And I prayed. And I prayed again. And God didn't tell me exactly where to find it right away.

It was important to me, so why didn't He just tell me? He knew where it was, didn't He?

Instead, He told me to clean my backpack and to change my bedding, and did I find it? No. But finally, when I was at breaking point and knew I had searched everywhere and had done all I could, He opened my eyes, and I found what I was looking for in the thinnest, darkest area next to a stack of towels. How did it get next to the towels?!

But it was there. And I was overcome by joy and gratitude.

And I'm pretty sure that's how Heavenly Father sees us. When we've done something wrong or feel like we aren't needed, or we wander away because people have hurt us, or maybe we feel uncomfortable around religious people because sometimes they can be too judgy, so we avoid everything relating to God, He hasn't given up on us. He could easily kick our stubborn mortal butts and tell us to get back in line, but He doesn't. He looks for us, watches for us, and then welcomes us with open arms so He can give us a big hug when we are found.

And when we return to Him, I'm sure He's saying to all of the angels, "Rejoice with me, for I have found the [one] which I had lost." 

Don't Forget the Darkness is Followed by the Dawn

One day as I was driving to work, I contemplated some of the difficult things I was dealing with—exhaustion, work, trying to fit in, my own struggle with my self-esteem, and health. The list might have continued, but as I looked at the sun coming over the mountain, it symbolized my journey. Each of us has to climb some pretty big metaphorical mountains in our lives. Sometimes, those mountains are piles of dirt and rocks, sometimes of big boulders and stones, and other times of silt and sand (those ones sound the most tiring). Do you know what’s good about mountains, though (Other than they keep tornadoes out)? Either there’s a tunnel that goes through the mountain to help you get to the other side or once you reach the top, you can look down and see the valley.

There are rough days or weeks or years, and would we like to skip out on those experiences? Of course, we would, but every day or week or year that seems to push us down in the muck isn’t the end because the end will be beautiful. And if it’s not wonderful and beautiful, it must not be the end of our journey yet. How I wish I could reverse time to ten years ago and hug Corey or Sam or Evan and tell them to hang on because the uphill hike would have something beautiful to look back on! When it gets tough, keep hanging on because whatever darkness we’re going through—whatever darkness you’re going through right now at this moment—will be followed by the dawn. The sun will come. It will come.

Some days the journey is all uphill. Often the clouds block our view.
But every tunnel in a mountain is a way to get through.
The way may seem steep, and the storm may be strong,
And maybe at times, the journey feels too long,
Every life has darkness when the sun won’t shine,
But life’s about the journey and the climb.

When you want to give up; when you’re tired and worn,
Remember how the fragrant rose wears a dozen thorns.
When you face the mountain, keep on hanging on—
Don’t forget the darkness is followed by the dawn.

It would be more peaceful to sail on calmer seas,
To drift through life in comfort while moving forth with ease.
Fewer tears, if any, would stream from heavy eyes,
And hearts would never break from an unwanted surprise.
At times, the road brings pain and our desires fade,
But after the fiery flames, comes the soothing glade.

When you want to give up; when you’re tired and worn,
Remember how the fragrant rose wears a dozen thorns.
When you face the mountain, keep on hanging on—
Don’t forget the darkness is followed by the dawn.

Never forget the darkness is followed by the dawn.

Everyday Miracles

 "There are no accidents." - Master Oogway, Kung Fu Panda

A discussion about miracles broke out at the studio where I work one day. During it, one of the guys said he hasn't seen any miracles, and surprised, I responded that I see them almost every day. He asked what they were, and I told him- the miracles I notice are the everyday sort of miracles. It's when the traffic lights turn green when I drive the speed limit, snow stops so it'll be safer to drive to church, or when the sun shines through at the right moment. It's when I'm trying to avoid someone who makes me feel uncomfortable, and other people sit beside me before that someone can. It's when I make plans to take a vacation somewhere on my bucket list, and everyone else ditches, but then, a friend says they'll go. It's when I'm feeling down, and a friend sends me a random message or a neighbor brings something over.

These are the sort of things my coworker said he thought were coincidences in his own life. However, growing up, I've heard from many sources, from psychology to the words of prophets and apostles (and even in science not focused on the big bang randomization theory) that there are no coincidences. And I believe that point of view. Maybe there are some small coincidences now and then like our favorite color is blue-green or maybe you like grilled cheese sandwiches as much as I do, but when the happy accidents in our lives happen, I don't believe those are accidents.

And if there are coincidences like my friend thinks, couldn't coincidences be miracles too?