Be With Me

Are you a Star Wars fan? Well, in my family, we love Star Wars, we’re not crazy fans, but we do watch every movie at some point. We just recently watched Rise of Skywalker. I know it’s not for everyone, but one part of this movie really touched me. Rey just had most of her life sucked out of her by the Sith Emperor Palpatine. {forgive me if I spell every name incorrectly…like I said, I love the movies, but am not knowledgeable fan}. She was laying on her back, watching her friends being destroyed up in the sky. And as she was laying there unable to move, she whispered, “Be with me” over and over. She was speaking to all the past Jedi’s. She was pleading for their help. She was pleading for strength to carry on and complete her unique mission. A mission only she could perform.

Have you had a moment like that? Maybe during this pandemic you have felt a moment like that. A moment where life was overwhelming. A moment where you felt like you couldn’t move. And you found yourself pleading for help. Asking for strength to make it through this day or even that moment.

Yesterday was a hard morning for me. Overall, during this pandemic, I have been really positive, ready to roll with whatever came. But for some reason, I was overcome with frustration yesterday. That mood hung and clung to me like our lovely Riverton clay mud. I couldn’t seem to shake it. My family was driving me crazy. They were driving each other crazy too. Maybe the Easter Bunny didn’t quite get things right, maybe we all should have gone to bed hours before we did. But at any rate…yesterday morning was hard. And I wanted the mood to go away so that we could focus on Jesus and the amazing gift He gave us.

I finally sought refuge in my bathroom. Please I prayed, “be with me”. I need help today to overcome these depressive feelings. After a nice long, hot shower, and a little more quiet time, that spirit of depression left.

In the movie, after Rey repeats those words, she hears the voices of all the Jedi’s who have gone before her. She is given strength beyond her own. And, “spoiler alert”, she finishes her mission.

How can we like Rey rise from the ground when we have lost all strength?

Let me suggest three things.

1. Seek strength from those who have gone on before us. I am constantly amazed at stories in the scriptures that apparently I have read before, but stand out to me in new ways. Maybe it’s just because I am older that I can relate better to those pleading parents, those who are fighting battles, those who are yearning for answered prayers. Search those stories. There are answers there.
2. Let the Grace of the Savior lift you. I am reading the book, Grace Where You Are, by Emily Belle Freeman {it’s on sale right now too!!}. I love this quote from her… “God knows who we are, as tiny and insignificant as we might feel. We are precious to Him. Our value in His eyes is beyond our ability to comprehend. Where we see imperfections, He sees possibility. What we view as inadequate, He can turn into abundance. What we determine to be a failure, He knows is a proving ground for faith. How is it done? Through His grace. ‘Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field…shall he not much more clothe you?’ In those moments when we are faced with what we cannot do, we must remember that the Lord can enable us to do so much more than we could ever do on our own. Next time you don’t have any more to give, when you feel inadequate or find yourself wondering if you will ever measure up, maybe you could remember this: Ours is the God of more, much more.“
3. Let people help you. Because when we let people help us, what that really means is we are letting God help us. It seems that is something that I need to continually learn. Just last week, out of the blue, a meal was dropped off to our home. I have no idea who gave us this meal. But it lifted my tired mama heart that evening. I generally love cooking. But sometimes, I just need a break. And so when our elder’s quorum president called that someone wanted to anonymously give us dinner…well, I jumped for joy!

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, “The adversary uses despair to bind hearts and minds in suffocating darkness. Despair drains from us all that is vibrant and joyful and leaves behind the empty remnants of what life was meant to be. Despair kills ambition, advances sickness, pollutes the soul, and deadens the heart. Despair can seem like a staircase that leads only and forever downward.”

He continues…

“Hope, on the other hand, is like the beam of sunlight rising up and above the horizon of our present circumstances. It pierces the darkness with a brilliant dawn. It encourages and inspires us to place our trust in the loving care of an eternal Heavenly Father, who has prepared a way for those who seek for eternal truth in a world of relativism, confusion, and of fear.”

For the month of April, I will be sharing stories on Instagram all about blessings seen in the midst of this world-wide pandemic. I know that when we focus on the little blessings instead of the hard things, our hearts are lifted. I know in my life, when I let my focus settle on the challenges, I just become saddened and depressed. When I keep my focus on seeking the daily blessings God provides, my whole household benefits. I have invited several women to share blessings they have seen in their families. I hope you will join me this month. If you aren’t on Instagram, you can see my photos here on this blog. And I will also do a follow-up blog at the end of the month.

Together we are stronger. And together with Christ, we can always rise up, for He is always with us individually. Just like each tulip is unique, so too are we and the missions we each must fulfill.

Today there is a reason to hope.