Chapter 8 Gifts and Warnings

Chapter 8                                       Gifts from Home

Just as Samuel and Rachel received gifts from their parents to help them with their journey, we too receive gifts from our Heavenly Father to help us through our life of trials on this earth, and help us remember who we are. The more we use these gifts, the more we come to understand our true identity, our divine heritage, our incredible potential and our Eternal destiny.

Prayer is a communication of pure love. And like the amulet, it keeps us close to our Heavenly Father and allows Him to have an influence of guidance and comfort in our lives.

The priesthood power that He gives us allows us to heal in His name and serve with His hands.

Like the magic parchment, Scriptures allow Him to be able to share with us those personal “letters” from “home” that can give us just what we need, at the moment we need it the most.

These scriptures along with the guidance of prophets and apostles, also act like a compass to give us direction in our lives. If heeded, they will keep us safe from unnecessary danger, and help us find our way home.  

Another gift He has given us, that I didn’t represent in the story is music—one of my favorite gifts—that allows the spirit to communicate directly to our soul.

There are literally hundreds of gifts He has given His children to help us with our journey. Some of mine are joy, faith, courage, and this story. J

What are some of your gifts? 

                                       Warnings from Heaven

There have been times in my life when Heavenly Father has needed to warn me of something that I might not have listened to, had the warning not been strong enough to really grab my attention.

Just like Samuel, we would probably enjoy going through life receiving only feelings of love, security and hope from God. But there are times when we—or others—put ourselves in dangerous situations, where we need to be warned of impending physical or spiritual danger.

If we are not aware of the evil that surrounds us, how can we fight it, or even flee from it?

Have you ever experienced a warning like this that made you jump to action?

Chapter 6 cont. How Prayers are answered.

Chapter 6 cont.                        How Prayers are answered.

It has always been amazing to me how Heavenly Father knows what to do now, to set things in motion, so that ten years later, when this special need arises, I pray, and my prayer is heard and answered the moment I need it. I’m not saying that He answers every desire of my heart the way I want Him to. But he answers every need, just when I need Him to, in beautiful and perfect ways.  

He knows what is best for me, and He knows before I know. And He always prepares a way for these needs to be met.

These are my thoughts.  J  What are yours? . . .

Chapter 5 cont. Of Love and Sacrifice

Chapter 5 cont.                             Of Love and Sacrifice –

We all know that it is the powerful, unconditional love of a parent that allows a mother and a father to sacrifice their life for their child. But what is it inside one’s soul that could possibly make a parent sever themselves from their children in a life or death situation, to maybe save the lives of a friend?

What is it that allowed pioneer women to separate themselves from their child’s frozen grave and continue on to Zion?

They had to have faith so deep that it was planted in the very marrow of their bones. Nothing but this deep seated faith in God, the Atonement, and in Eternal Families could tear a mother away from her child, or allow parents like the ones in this story, to give their lives when it was asked of them.

But, these are my feelings. What are yours? . . . 

Chapter 6 cont. Who am I?

When Rachel and Samuel are ripped from their parents and their home and thrown into a life of the unknown, they are filled with fear and pain, and Samuel is filled with guilt. It is crushing to them because all they see is their wonderful past and tragic present. Their fear comes because they can only imagine their future based on what they know of themselves at that moment. They know only a fraction of their inherited  identity, and only a fraction of their potential, or their destiny.

If they could turn the pages of this book to see who they really are, and what they will be able to do, they would rise on eagles wings and soar through the trials they faced.

Similarly, if we too, could turn the pages of our story, to see who we really are and what we are capable of, we too, would soar on eagles wings through the tragedies that we face.

I think, like Samuel, some of us are given a taste, a glimpse, just an “itch” that we are greater than we know, that there is more to our souls—our lives—than what we do each day. But do we go to the correct source to find those answers?

If Samuel had gone to his father to discover his true identity and his purpose and destiny, his life could have avoided much tragedy, sorrow and guilt. How many of us turn to the world to find our destiny, when instead, we could avoid the pains of the world by going straight to our Father who will open our eyes to see the incredible son or daughter of  God that we are, made in His likeness, with His gifts, born with a destiny beyond our greatest dreams.

So, these are just my thoughts. What are yours? . . . 

Chapter 7 Heart walls, pain, and treasures

How easy is it, when we feel pain or fear, to build a wall around our hearts. A wall that is meant to protect us from feeling any more pain, but ends up keeping out the very thing that would heal us! That is the love of our family and friends, and the love of our Heavenly Father. With our walls securely built up around our hearts, we go on living life, smiling, joking, working hard, and yet missing the connections that we were meant to make with people. Those deep connections that make life good. The deep friendships that help us get through the hard things. We become an island, resigning ourselves to go through our deepest sadnesses and hardships alone, while just beyond that wall is a world rich with the love of God, family and dear friends just waiting to wrap itself around  us and heal our wounds.

But we choose to "protect" ourselves no matter what the costs! 

Another way we protect ourselves when we are in pain, is through anger. I love how the apostle Paul shares how we often hurt others when we are buried by our own pain. Have you ever been so consumed by pain that all you can see is anger?  Again, we protect ourselves first, at all costs. Has your pain ever blinded you to the open arms, the gifts and treasures provided by loving friends or family,  that might have lifted your burdens and provide you with sustenance?

What are your thoughts? :-)