Caught in the Rain

"Wherever you find yourselves on this mortal journey through life, whatever trials you may face, there is always a point of safe return; there is always hope...God has prepared a [way] to bring you safely back to Him, to your divine destination."
Quotes taken from "Point of Safe Return" by Dieter F. Uchtdorf (April 2007)

It has taken me a while to come up with a new topic for a blog post.  The passing of Zach's birthday stirred some strong emotions that I didn't realize were still buried inside of me.  It has taken me until now to work through them and feel again of that light that accompanies true happiness.

I had the wonderful opportunity to spend the last week at my favorite vacationing spot with my family--the beach!  In North Carolina.  It doesn't get much better than that.  We did have a lot more rain than I have seen in a long time.  I forgot that it could rain like that.  I want to share the experience of getting caught in the rain.

Thursday of last week was probably the most beautiful day of the week.  I spent much of my time outside, just admiring the beautiful skies meeting with the ocean on the horizon.  The pictures created with the the splash of white clouds and rays of sun were so beautiful.  It was so peaceful.  Well, the next day was our last day there.  Of course we had to make the most of it.  Aaron told us it would rain at about 10:00 that morning.  (He served as our forecaster for the week.)  Knowing this, I convinced Mom that we should get out and do our last walk before the opportunity was lost to us.  It was another beautiful morning, albeit, quite windy.  We walked out 1 1/2 miles, blue skies all the way.  When we turned around to head back to the house, directly in front of us was the darkest rain clouds we had seen all week.  We knew we would be lucky to make it home.  We made it about 1/2 a mile before the rain started.  The further we walked, toward the house, the heavier the rain got, until finally, it was raining so hard I couldn't see in front of me.  I tried shielding my eyes, but it didn't do much good.  Mom thought maybe we should stop and wait it out under someone's deck.  However, we continued, and we saw that the sky ahead of us was not quite so ominous.  We both knew that if we kept pushing, fighting strong wind, heavy rain, and the sting of the sand against our legs, we would be able to make it home, where we were guaranteed shelter from the storm.  So we kept at it.  The rain had nearly stopped by the time we reached our house, but we made it.  We were pretty proud of ourselves!  And wouldn't you know...as soon as we were inside and dried off, the sun came out again.

I couldn't help but liken this to life.  I am a person who lives in fear of what trials I may be called to face in this life, but I am finally starting to get past that and just focus on enjoying 1 day at a time while I can.  I realized that it was easy to have hope in the promise of shelter from the storm if we pushed through the tough part.  We would be rewarded at the end, and we would no longer be "stuck" in the rain.  However, I have never been able to look at my trials that way.  When trials come, I just want to quit.  I don't want to feel the sting of pain, the sadness, the fear.  I want it to go away.  But we all know that life doesn't work that way.  We have to keep going.  We have to climb higher everyday, try harder everyday if we are going to reach that glorious view, feel of that peaceful light that fills our souls when we turn to the right source for strength.  In our darkest hour, Christ will save us.  "The Atonement of Jesus Christ can give us the assurance that sin [or trials are] not a point of no return.  A safe return is possible if we will follow God's plan for our salvation."  "This plan was prepared from before the foundation of the earth.  It is a great plan of happiness, a plan of mercy, a plan of redemption, a plan of salvation.  This plan enables us to experience a physical existence, including mortality, a time of probation, and to return to the presence of God and live in eternal happiness and glory...Following this plan has beautiful eternal consequences for us."  Just as Mom and I knew our safe house waited for us if only we pushed on a little farther, so it is with our eternal destiny.  We have the promise of 'eternal happiness and glory,' and 'beautiful eternal consequences,' for enduring to the end.  We cannot give up, knowing that these amazing promises are within our reach.

As difficult as it may be at times, we cannot give up.  Heavenly Father loves us, and the Savior will carry us through.  I have felt this many times throughout my life.  I really have.  We will never be left to walk this path alone.  We cannot allow ourselves to miss the many joys and blessings life has because there may be a dark cloud in our path.  When you cannot go on anymore, pray.  You will be amazed at the strength and peace you will find there.

I am attaching (hopefully) the link for this song that has spoken to me in so many ways.  I hope you like it too.