Occasionally I am moved to examine my soul for (1) What has blessed my life; (2) Where I am on my journey's path; and (3) Where do I stand in the light of my Heavenly Father's love?
Today, which marks the true and actual birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and also the day in 1830 which brought the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints back to the earth, I was moved by the words of one of God's servants, Deiter F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency, when he challenged us to give our thanks "in" the trials of our lives. His words were echoed by Brother Bednar of the Council of the Twelve, when he suggested that it was the "loads" of our lives that give us traction to carry on.
What wonderful and uplifting words for us in these latter-days. These are truly trying times for many of us. But, we need not lose hope, because our lives...each and every one of them...are being watched over so very carefully by a loving Heavenly Father, and our strength is in His Son, Jesus Christ. I can bear testimony that it is because of these truths that are evident in my own life, that the "yoke" which I bear in company of my Savior is "easy, and my burden is light."
To answer the first query, "What has blessed my life?"... the Gospel of Jesus Christ sits at the very top of that list, along with His unequaled Atonement that has sustained me through each and every trial. Many times, I have tried to imagine my life without the Gospel of Jesus Christ in it and I cannot! There was a seemingly long period of time when that blessing was taken away from me, and I walked in darkness without the blessing of the Holy Ghost to guide me. I was left with only the teachings of my youth by goodly parents, who never gave up on me, to fall back on. That and the testimony that I had built in my life sustained me. And, it is the belief of my heart that my Savior, Jesus Christ, never gave up on me, either. I struggled and clawed my way out of that deep, dark pit of despair, always focusing on the light at the top, until I regained most of the ground that I had lost. And my life has never been the same since.
As to the second question, "Where am I on my journey's path?"... In my heart of hearts, I believe I am inching ever closer to the end of my journey. And the Lord has whispered to me that I still have much to do here. Some promptings have made it very clear to me what those "things" are, while others have not yet been made known to me. I keep searching for those latter answers.
Nearly two years ago, I was facing a life threatening situation in my journey and for a time I did not know what the outcome would be. But, through the power of the Priesthood and a healing blessing given to me by an Elder in our Church, the Holy Ghost witnessed to me that my journey was not yet complete...that there was still much for me to do. Ever since that experience, I have queried, just what is it that I need to accomplish? One of the answers that has come to me is the engrossing work of genealogy. Currently, I am searching out the stories of my ancestors, as much of their work has been done for them. When I am focused, I cannot put the work down! It consumes me.
Another prompting that has came to me as I was contemplating my purpose is following the spirit to re-unite with my husband, Dean Mickelson, was the need to gather all that I can of his genealogy, because I was impressed that his ancestors are calling to me to do something to get their names to the Temple. In that endeavor, I have gathered all that is available to me; I try diligently to be an example to my husband and his family; and perhaps one day, this work will be done. I don't know how the Lord will help me accomplish this task, but I trust that He will.
As I near the last days of my sojourn on this earth, I feel confident...more and more every day...that my Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, loves me and that He is mindful of my journey. And that brings me to the third question, "Where do I stand in the light of my Heavenly Father's love?" It illuminates my very being and keeps me moving forward on His path. Oh, there are days, when the adversary gets in my head and tells me, "it is too hard, I cannot keep it up," and I work all the harder to push those thoughts away. There are other times when I feel that my tempter has won and my patience with those around me has grown ever thinner and I lose my temper, only to beg forgiveness moments later when I realize what I have or am doing.
I am so grateful for days like this one, that make me stop and ponder and reflect and renew my faith in my Testimony of Jesus Christ. Like my mother before me, I pray that I may endure to the very end whatever the Lord has to bring into my life. I am so grateful for her's and my father's examples that sustain me, and I truly look forward to the day when I can run first into the arms of my Savior as He examines my life's journey, and second into the arms of my parents.
