LESSONS OF LIFE

 

Divine Meditation

The lessons of my life flowed like a river

Winding through days, months and years;

I rescued a few but missed so many

From the currents as I saw them passing;

They drowned in a daze of my ignorance,

Unwanted and ignored but yet abiding.

I fish them now from the pool of my memory

And give them life everlasting.

- Cathryne Allen

THE SON

 

Portrait of the Christ by Richard L. George

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire their great works. 

When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for the only son. 

About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. 

He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art." The young man held out his package. "I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this." 

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. "Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift."

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having opportunity to purchase one for their collection.

On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gravel. "We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?

There was silence.

Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, "We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one."

But the auctioneer persisted. "Will somebody bid for this painting?  Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?

Another voice angrily. "We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!"

But still the auctioneer continued. "The son! The son! Who'll take the son?"

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. "I'll give $10 for the painting."  Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.

"We have $10, who will bid $20?"

"Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters."

"$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?"

The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections. 

The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!"

A man sitting on the second row shouted, "Now let's get on with the collection!"

The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I'm sorry, the auction is over."

"What about the paintings?"

"I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the works of art. The man who took the son gets everything."

God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: "The Son, the Son, who'll take the Son?"

Because, you see, whoever takes the Son, gets everything.

- Author Unknown

ODE TO JOB

 

You sank so deep

Into the mire o f your pain;

Nobody followed you

Nobody sang praises to your name.

 

In your hour of agony

You gloried in His name

You became my beacon of hope

that I can do the same.

 

Your blessings multiplied

As the stars of heaven do

Each night I see them,

I am reminded of you.

 

-      CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art by AI)

THE MIGHTY JOB 1

 

Imagine God called you ‘perfect and upright’. What kind of a life would you have led to earn such accolades?  This is what the Lord called Job and what he did to deserve it (Job 1:1):

-          As supreme magistrate he ‘chose out people’s way’, adjusted their differences, and ‘sat chief’, presiding in all their civil assemblies.

-          As captain general he dwelt ‘as a king in the midst of his troops’, preserving order and discipline, and seeing that his fellow soldiers were provided with requisites for their warfare, and the necessaries of life.

-          As a man he did not think himself superior to the meanest offices in domestic life, to relieve or support his fellow creatures, he went about ‘comforting the mourners’ visiting the sick and afflicted and ministering to their wants and seeing that the ‘wounded’ were properly attended.

-          Old Testament Student Manual Book 2, p 30

In a more detailed scriptural account, this was the life of Job:

He was upright (1:1)

He feared God (1:1)

He avoided evil (1:1)

He instructed many (4:3)

He strengthened weak hands (4:3)

He supported those who were falling (4:4)

He strengthened the feeble knees (4:4)

He walked in the Lord's ways (23:10)

He did not turn away from the commandments (23:11)

He loved the Lord's words more than food (23:12)

He delivered the poor (29:12)

He cared for the orphans (29:12)

He helped those whom no one else would help (29:12)

He gave the widow cause to sing with joy (29:13)

He was eyes to the blind (29:15)

He was feet to the lame (29:15)

He was father to the poor (29:16)

He searched for people in need of his assistance (29:16)

He never found joy in the suffering of his enemies (31:29)

He never wished evil on his enemies (31:30)

He opened his home to strangers (31:32)

He did not try to hide his sins (31:33)

He would not follow a multitude to do evil (31:34)

He refused to be silent because of the disapproval of others (31:34)

So Job was righteous, did good continually, was incredibly respected in the community and he was fabulously wealthy. You could say, his life was perfect. Hence the whole argument that Satan presented. When the Lord held Job up as an example of perfection, Satan challenged with something to this effect: "Of course he is good when you are blessing him left, right and center. It's easy to be good when you have a perfect life, but take all that away and see how much he is going to love you and believe in you."

So Job went from the pinnacle of society to living in rags on the outskirts of the city, in constant pain, not understanding what has happened to him. Basically he went from the picture of perfection to this:

 

"From the symptoms, some have said that it appears that he had elephantiasis. Sore boils, one of the symptoms of this disease, had attacked Job's body, forming large pustules which itched so greatly that a piece of pottery was used to scrape them. Job's face was so disfigured that his friends could not recognise him. Worms or maggots were bred in the sores (7:5). His breath became so foul and his body emitted such an odor, that even his friends abhorred him (19:17ff), and he sought refuge outside the city on the refuse heap where outcasts and lepers lived.

 

“Pain was his constant companion (30:17,30) as were also terrifying nightmares (7:14). Whereas, formerly old, young, princes and nobles alike honored Job, he now felt abused by those whom society itself rejects; who live on the outskirts of town, among the bushes, along the ditchbanks or in caves" (Keith H. Meservy, "Job: 'Yet Will I Trust In Him'", Sixth Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium, BYU, January 1978)

 

The lessons we can learn from this man’s experience are extensive. Over the years I have written 9 blogs about his life. This year I am looking at him from the vantage of wisdom that often comes with experience and age…..not that I am anywhere near the calibre of Job but now I understand something about suffering....

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Job - Archimedes by Italian Baroque Artist Luca Giordano)

A GIFT

 

It Is Finished by Mindi Oaten

Thy infinite mercy

Thy limitless goodness

Thy bountiful compassion,

A gift to those who loveth Thee;

Trailing from the cross of Calvary,

Sealed with Your hour of agony.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

THE POWER OF TRIBULATION

 

Thy Will Be Done by Jay Bryant Ward

It was revealed to me a while ago that I was strong and fearless in my pre-mortal life but I suspect that I was so self-assured that I was bordering on being cocky.  I think I honestly thought I was going to ace it here on earth.

Being an idealist, I was attracted to the Church in my youth because it felt like I had found the principle that was going to give me power to become who I wanted to be and that principle was obedience. I thought through obedience to the Gospel laws I was to become this giant of endurance and strength in the face of evil, temptation and tribulation. Obedience became everything to me. I did well enduring trials for many years so then my goal morphed into something else – dying with amazing achievements under my belt and going home in triumph. I was going to return home with honour.

What I didn’t realise is that honour lies in un-glamorous attributes such as endurance, repentance, humility and compassion amongst others. Honour lies in what you become and not in what you have achieved.  Never did I expect that an invisible monster called pain would come to live on my back with its claws in my flesh and would have so much power over me. This monster has taken me on a roller coaster of struggling emotions and has robbed me of motivation to achieve anything on more days than I care to admit.

I have always admired Job because he was a ‘strong person’ in the midst of his tribulation but now that I understand that monster that was on his back too, what I think he stands for the most is the proof of the reward of his endurance. More of that as we study the book of Job.

“Enduring ‘well’ means passing the breaking point without breaking, having cause to be bitter – as men measure cause – without being bitter. Enduring ‘well’ means the disciple in the very trough of his difficulties avoids, as Job wisely did, having ‘charged God foolishly’.”  (Neal A. Maxwell, Meek and Lowly, p 115)

We are told that we are here to walk by faith but I would say that the higher path of faith is trust.  It is easy to believe in God but it is not easy to trust Him. For instance, King Mosiah of the Book of Mormon tells us that unless we submit to ‘all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon us’, even as a child submits to his father, we can never overcome the natural man (Mosiah 3:19). This is a hard doctrine that asks of us an exorbitant amount of trust in the process that will refine us and make us rise above the mortal self to eternal glory. Job understood this when he said regarding his suffering: “when he hath tried me I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). This is trust, when you can accept your extreme suffering believing it will be for your ultimate good.

When we can trust in a God, we cannot see, and His plan for us, which we cannot remember ever agreeing to, that is ultimate trust. I am a firm believer of freedom of choice that existed even before this life but I didn’t know our freedom to choose determined the course of our earthly lives to such an extent as it does. This was confirmed to me just recently when I asked God if my illness was in my life’s plan and received an answer I did not expect:  “Yes. You chose it over mental illness. You wanted to keep your brain so you could understand the doctrines of the kingdom and teach it to others and so you could bear witness of Christ.”

This revelation made amazing sense of my life. The next day I reflected on it and realized the exact nature of that choice I made so long ago.  I remembered my physical illness runs in my family as does dementia. I think I was told when my plan was devised that these two illnesses will be in the genetic legacy of my family and I was given the choice as to which one I would prefer to suffer. I chose the monster and I know my choice went beyond my desire to keep my mind.

Trust was the major component of our willingness to come to a world of suffering. Our trust in the saving grace of the Atonement of Jesus Christ would have been supreme before we came. No sane person would accept a painful plan with the risk of being lost, without a sure way of eventual escape. It would be like entering a tunnel knowing there is no exit at the end. We knew that the Saviour could do it and would do it. Trust is also double sided. The Father’s ability to send us to temporary affliction shows His utmost trust in His Beloved Son and the process of the Atonement, knowing full well that because of it we would survive.

When I entered my stage of illness I became very introspective of my life. Somehow I felt I was to blame for the hard life I was given but a realization came to me that I followed my heart in all my major decisions and steps I took and I realized I was being guided and I responded to that guidance with trust. Knowing that freed me from self-accusation. I am learning now to accept submission in this the hardest leg of my journey…..and I’m hearing clearly the agony of those famous words coming from Gethsemane: “nevertheless not my will but thine be done” (Luke 22:42)

I viewed my life as hopeless pieces

And shame consumed my fragile heart.

I questioned every move and every choice;

I berated; I gave no value to any part.

Not until my trust consumed me

And my will to heavens flew

Did solace nestle in my soul

And such freedom as I never knew.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

ETERNAL BOND

 

In His Tender Care by Jay Bryant Ward

The most comforting of LDS doctrine is one of family eternal bond, especially when it comes to death of children. There is no greater sorrow. It’s the unknown of what could have been had they lived.

The Prophet Joseph Smith and his wife, Emma, who had six of their eleven children die, had reason to ask why. The Prophet said: “I have meditated upon the subject, and asked the question, why is that infants, innocent children, are taken away from us, especially those that seem to be the most intelligent and interesting. The strongest reasons that present themselves to my mind are these: This world is a very wicked world…..The Lord takes many away, even in infancy, that they may escape the envy of man, and the sorrows and evils of this present world; they were too pure, too lovely, to live on earth; therefore, if rightly considered, instead of mourning we have reason to rejoice as they are delivered from evil, and we shall soon have them again. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 177)

Emma lived almost 35 years after the martyrdom of her prophet-husband. A few days before she died she told her nurse, Elizabeth Revel, that Joseph had come to her in a vision and said: "'Emma, come with me, it is time for you to come with me'.

As Emma related it, she said, 'I put on my bonnet and my shawl and went with him; I did not think that it was anything unusual. I went with him into a mansion, and he showed me through the different apartments of that beautiful mansion'. And one room was the nursery.

In that nursery was a babe in the cradle. She said, 'I knew my babe, my Don Carlos that was taken from me'. She sprang forward, caught the child up in her arms and wept with joy over the child. When Emma recovered herself sufficiently, she turned to Joseph and said, 'Joseph, where are the rest of my children?'

He said to her, 'Emma, be patient and you shall have all of your children'. Then she saw standing by his side a personage of light, even the Lord Jesus Christ." (Gracia N. Jones, My Great-Great-Grandmother, Emma Hale Smith, Ensign Aug 1992)

And this is the most comforting doctrine of all:

“President Joseph F. Smith (1838-1918) lost many children to early deaths. He was comforted by the doctrine that little children would be resurrected as little children and raised to maturity by their righteous parents after the Resurrection. President Smith once shared the following: “Joseph Smith taught the doctrine that the infant child that was laid away in death would come up in the resurrection as a child; and, pointing to the mother of a lifeless child, he said to her: “You will have the joy, the pleasure and satisfaction of nurturing this child, after its resurrection until it reaches the full stature of its spirit.”

“There is restitution, there is growth, there is development, after the resurrection from death. I love this truth. It speaks volumes of happiness, of joy and gratitude to my soul. Thank the Lord he has revealed these principles to us.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith (1998), 132)

Not only will little children reach full maturity, but they will also reach full exaltation. Abinadi taught that “little children also have eternal life” (Mosiah 15:25). The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that “you shall have your children, for they shall have eternal life, for their debt is paid.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (1998), 177)

We owe the payment of this debt to one man: our Creator, our God, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Gethsemane was not only the place of sweat but a place of tears. The payment for the Fall and the sins of the world was paid by the sweat and blood of Him who satisfied the law of justice but His tears flowed in the Garden of sorrow for all the broken hearts of grieving parents to this day.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN