Thursday, March 15, 2012

I read a quote yesterday that comforted me.
I found it in Gerald N. Lund's book called Fire of the Covenant
which is about the Willie and Martin Handcart companies
and the trials and afflictions they faced.
It's by Elder Neil A. Maxwell who said,

"How could we expect to be joyous
and to receive ALL
that 'the Father hath'
if we do not strive to become like Him?
And, in fact, can we,
on our scale,
be like Him
WITHOUT sharing in the 
'fellowship of his sufferings'?
He shares with us His work;
does that not suggest
the need for
our sharing, too,
some of the 
suffering?

If in all of this there is some
understandable trembling,
the adrenaline of affliction
can help to ensure
that our pace
will be brisk
rather than casual.
His grace 
will cover us like a cloak--
enough to provide for
survival
but too thin
to keep out ALL
the cold.
The seeming cold 
is there to keep us
from drowsiness,
and gospel gladness 
warms us enough 
to keep going."

A little while ago I have a few good weeks in a row
and then seemingly all of sudden
I was depressed.
I was really, really, disappointed.
I had had the feeling that I was finally overcoming
the depression.
But as C.S. Lewis wrote, 
"Our Father [in Heaven] refreshes us on the
journey [through life]
with some pleasant inns,
but [He] will not encourage us
to mistake them for home”
(C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, New York: Macmillan, 1967, p. 103.)

The brief respites and His grace enables us to keep going.