It's not too late

The miracle of Jarius' daughter begins after Jesus returns by boat to the other side of the lake.  It seems as though Jarius, a ruler of the synagogue, has been waiting for his arrival.  When Jarius sees Christ,  "he fell at his feet, and besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.  And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him." Mark 5:22-24

While on his way to heal the girl, another woman seeks and receives a miraculous healing.  She has been sick for 12 years and has faith that if she can just touch Christ, she will be healed.  She does and she is.  Christ, aware of the miracle, stops to find her and tell her that her faith has made her whole.  Although it is beautiful and life changing experience for this woman, it appears that this delay has been fatal for Jarius’ daughter. 

"While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?”

But Jesus tells them in effect, “It‘s not too late.”

“As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.  And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.  But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying.  And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.  And straightway the damsel arose and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.”  Mark 5:35-42

I love this miracle.  Elder Richard G. Scott taught, "To produce fruit, your trust in the Lord must be more powerful and enduring than your confidence in your own personal feelings and experience.  To exercise faith is to trust that the Lord knows what He is doing with you and that He can accomplish it for your eternal good even though you cannot understand how He can possibly do it."  Whether we think that Christ's power is limited by time, or by our own imperfections, or the good He is doing in someone else's life, or the sometimes daunting circumstances of mortality, we are wrong.  It's not too late.  Be not afraid, only believe. When we do, miracles like that which the family of Jarius experienced can be ours as well. 

A Hand

Teddy and I saw a miracle today. I wasn't planning to share my own personal miracles, wanting the events to be something we all can read and experience in the scriptures, but if you have a hand, this is your miracle, too. 

As Teddy's sentinel of sleep, I was by his crib helping him to be still and relaxed to invite a nap.  He was close to sleep several times. But instead, he kept extending his hand away from his body and repeatedly opening and closing his fingers, watching with keen interest how his hand worked.  Open. Close. Open. Close. Open. Close.  "Isn't it amazing?" I whispered.  

I recently read this talk from President Howard W. Hunter. Here is an excerpt: 

...startling and wonder-filled as they were, Christ’s many miracles were only reflections of those greater marvels which his Father had performed before him and continues to perform all around us. Indeed, the Savior’s humble performance of such obviously divine acts may be just one very special application of the declarations he made:

“The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise” (John 5:19) and “I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me” (John 8:28).

For example, the first miracle by Jesus recorded in the New Testament was the turning of water into wine at the marriage at Cana. (See John 2:1–11.) But poor, indeed, was the making of the wine in the pots of stone, compared with its original making in the beauty of the vine and the abundance of the swelling grapes. No one could explain the onetime miracle at the wedding feast, but then neither could they explain the everyday miracle of the splendor of the vineyard itself.

It is most remarkable to witness one who is deaf made to hear again. But surely that great blessing is no more startling than the wondrous combination of bones and skin and nerves that lets our ears receive the beautiful world of sound. Should we not stand in awe of the blessing of hearing and give glory to God for that miracle, even as we do when hearing is restored after it has been lost?

Is it not the same for the return of one’s sight or the utterance of our speech, or even that greatest miracle of all—the restoration of life? The original creations of the Father constitute a truly wonder-filled world. Are not the greatest miracles the fact that we have life and limb and sight and speech in the first place? Yes, there will always be plenty of miracles if we have "eyes to see and ears to hear."

Teddy seemed to recognize that truth today, and he helped me do so, too. "There are nothing but gifts on this poor, poor earth."  Czeslaw Milosz

A Countdown to Christmas

In an attempt to help us believe in Christ and come to know Him, Moroni (a prophet of the Book of Mormon) declared, "I will show unto you a god of miracles,"Mormon 9:11 The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

John similarly invited us to come to know Christ by pointing to his miracles: "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name,"  John 20:30-31 Holy Bible. 

To countdown to Christmas this year, I am going to write about a different miracle recorded in the scriptures each day. I hope you will join me, and that we will come to see ourselves in the miracles, become better acquainted with Christ, and have more faith in His love, power, and willingness to bless us.   

Today's miracle is recorded in 2 Kings 20:1-6

     In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death.  And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. 
     Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying, I beseech thee, O Lord, remember how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight.  And Hezekiah wept sore.  
     And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard they prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord. 
     And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.  

I have often wondered if my prayers had any real power. If we are supposed to pray for God's will to be done, and He is just going to do His own will anyway, I have wondered what is the point of praying for what I want?

The LDS bible dictionary teaches, "The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them."

I love Hezekiah's miracle. It shows that the blessings God is willing to grant are generous and miraculous, and that our prayers do have power.  There are other instances in the scriptures where God specifically points out that the outcome is directly because of a person's prayer (Alma 31:38, Mosiah 27:14).  In such cases, God's will isn't being changed because of prayer, but rather it is more fully accomplished.  Because of our prayers and His power, we can change what is and what will be.  That is a miracle.

Best Family Home Evening Ever

Tonight was my turn to plan Family Home Evening, and I asked Harris if he wanted to be in charge of the lesson.  He used his toy microphone, and told us to find a place to sit on our rug.  We sang a song, had a prayer, and then he taught us a beautiful, simple, powerful lesson.  

I suggested he choose a picture from our gospel art book.  The book was opened to page with this picture and he said, "Heavenly Father wants us to hold this lamb like Jesus."  He said it as if the purpose of the picture was for Jesus to show us how to hold a lamb.  I admit, in the moment, Clark and I looked at each other trying to hold the laughter in.  Then Harris gave each of us a turn with the microphone and book.  It wasn't until I was getting Teddy to bed that I thought about what he had taught us.  Heavenly Father wants us to do everything like Jesus did them.   I feel like this is the answer to my prayers about how to handle a difficult social situation in my life.  I need to be kind and truth telling (sometimes seemingly  mutually exclusive). 

This weekend was conference weekend*.  We watch 4 (5 if you are male 12 yrs. old or older) 2-hr. sessions of prophets and church leaders teaching us the good word via a worldwide tv semi-annual broadcast.  We are invited to come with questions, praying that we will receive answers, and are promised divine response in return for our preparation and sincerity.  I tried to prepare myself and my boys.  I wrote down a list of questions, or situations that I hoped to receive guidance on.  I talked with Harris for several days leading up to conference about what it was, why it was important and who would be speaking.  I made treats, and little games and activities to try to create enthusiasm, and some order so we could listen.  Despite my preparation, I didn't feel like I could listen as  I would have liked.  I felt uplifted, but I didn't feel like I received specific guidance for me.  I wondered if next year Clark and I should each have one session where we locked ourselves in a room to watch it solo.  But, that didn't seem to be the answer.  I think there is something important and powerful about gathering as a family to listen.  As I thought about it, I felt a little sad that I had missed out on something.  But, quickly felt the assurance through God's Spirit that although, I couldn't participate without distractions and interruptions of two darling boys, God would use those very boys to teach me-- daily.  I felt that my role as a mother wouldn't make it more difficult to receive divine response, but easier.  Tonight I experienced it, and I am grateful for the beauty of God's hand in my life.  

*to view or read transcripts of conference click here

A difficult question

Weeks ago I attempted to create a profile for mormon.org.  I was doing it out of a sense of duty, and thought I could quickly check it off the list while Harris operated his toy crane and while Teddy gnawed on his super-sized lego.  But, I was wrong.  

The template asks, "How do you live your faith?" It seems like a serious question deserving of a serious answer. I thought about it and determined the allotted 2000 characters weren't sufficient.  I couldn't think of anything I could say to capture how much my faith means to me, and that although my efforts to be Christ-like are quite incipient they are also fruitful because of His power and goodness, not mine.    

Because I failed to answer the question and create the profile, I decided to keep this blog instead.  I will record my day-to-day attempts to apply the teachings of Christ's gospel and my evolving understanding of them .  I am hopeful that it will help me to someday be able answer the question in 2000 charcters, but if I only had two words they would be: grace and progress.