SAMPLING GETHSEMANE

 

“Our unity with the divine presence brings us peace and comfort, at first through the Holy Ghost. But that is not all; for not only the Holy Ghost may abide with us, but the good Master too: “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”  (John 14:18)

“The term ‘comfortless’ in this passage of the New Testament is translated from the Greek term for ‘orphans’, suggesting that the Saviour might have said, “I will not leave you orphaned”. This usage would underscore the parent-child relationships between Christ and His followers, and it echoes the sense of belonging and parent-like bonding…

“Among the Lord’s most intimate and personal reassurances to us are his words in modern revelation to the children of Christ, teaching us that belonging to Him in this doctrinally based sense is the ultimate source of safety and peace – the spiritual fulfilment of our belonging: “Fear not, little children, for ye are mine, and I have overcome the world, and you are of them that my Father hath given me; and none of them that my Father hath given me shall be lost.” (D&C 50:41-42)”

- Bruce C. Hafen, "The Belonging Heart" p 148-149

I wondered why You were absent

When I most needed Thee;

I felt so alone in my suffering,

Yet You promised You’d be with

 us in everything.

 

I thought I was in my own

Garden of Gethsemane,

Until I saw Your footprints

And Your drops of blood

that had eluded me.

 

I looked around and I understood

You knew every tree,

Every shrub, even every blade

Of grass in Your vicinity.

I was in Your garden, not mine,

That beckoned me.

 

I realised You are there still

Praying for my weak soul

to come to Thee;

I will come, I will honour Thee;

Let me first sit under this tree

A while and reflect upon Your suffering.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: My Child by David Bowman)