Langham-Dobson Family: March 2009

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately- I find I do that more than ever since I am dealing with one of my children having a terminal illness. Yeah, I have bad days but I am so lucky that I have the gospel to fall upon to give me strength to get though this challenge our family is facing. I had this thought come to mind while talking to a friend of mine recently and I wanted to share it with you.

So, we think about what it will be like to meet our Lord and Savior after this life... my question to you is you want him to be fair right? most of you are probably reading this (well, if anyone ever does read this) and saying yes, I want him to be fair. After giving this much thought I came to the conclusion that No- I don't want him to be fair.... Did that catch you off guard? I realized that to be fair I would have no hope, no real chance to be where I want to be when I pass from this existence. No, I don't want my Heavenly Father and my Lord and Savior to be fair I want them to be merciful. I know that it is only through Fathers love and his redeeming grace that I will find hope in coming home to them one day.

Is my challenge with Josh fair? not to me, but then I know there are others that have had to go through so many more challenges in life than me. Is any challenge that we go through fair? No, not really but it is an opportunity for us to learn and grow from how we choose to face that challenge, and just like we look to the Savior to be merciful so we should look in our own lives and find where we can extend mercy to others for misunderstandings, challenges they face that we may not know about. If there is one thing I am learning is how much I have judged others in the past- even though I thought I wasn't... but walking until I have walked in another's shoes I should remember I am not them and I do not know all their circumstance. I hope I can be more like my Elder Brother and Savior and find mercy for all those around me.

I hope that we can all find mercy and forgiveness to those that have wronged us or hurt our feelings. Life is such a short time, and too short to be spent having bad feelings towards others or feeling resentment..... So stop looking for things to be fair- they never will be but enjoy the moment you have and learn from the challenges that are yours. Pick up your feet when they seem heavy and "just keep on moving one step at a time".