"If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you may have seen an unusual photo I posted recently of my return flight from our France ministry trip. While travelling from Paris to Dallas, we had an emergency landing in Iceland! After four hours of flying from Charles de Gaulle airport to Dallas/Fort Worth, we suddenly saw the flight pattern on the little TV screen make a giant U-turn and we started heading back in the direction we just left. It was already going to be a long ten hour flight and to add an unexpected emergency land to the trip was not a part of my plan.
As we sat on the tarmac for hours in Iceland awaiting our approval for takeoff, I texted my husband and my daughter. I let them know everything was OK, and that I'd arrive later than planned....but I would eventually get home. As we sat grounded at the Reykjavik Airport unable to disembark, I was reminded of a message I taught a few years ago titled, "Where Were You Headed Before the Storm Hit?". When pilots are learning to fly, and they encounter unexpected storms, delays, or emergency detours, they have three words drilled into them.....are you ready for this? Fly. The. Plane. It's deep, I know. In other words, don't panic. Don't crash. Don't get distracted. Don't give up. Don't land somewhere and assume you're supposed to stay there. Fly the plane and you'll eventually arrive at your original destination. And it's the same with your vision, your plan, your life. When you encounter a storm, a letdown, a setback, or an unexpected delay, you've got to stay focused.
Storms happen to all of us. Financial storms, family storms, marital storms, physical storms, career storms; it's part of life. When a storm hits your life, you have to ask, "Where was I headed before the storm hit?" You can choose to let a storm defeat you or let it drive you to the next level. Think about how a shepherd leads his sheep. He doesn't take them from mountaintop to mountaintop. He leads them through the valley to get to the next mountaintop. It's in the valley where we grow, we develop character, strength, vision, and the skills necessary to prepare us for the next mountaintop.
Whatever you're facing today, God can use it to lift you to a higher level. In the Bible, King David would be known as Shepherd Boy David if it weren't for Goliath. Think about that. Saul didn't promote David to the next level God had planned, Goliath did. That giant, that obstacle, that massive roadblock wasn't meant to destroy him, it was meant to promote him! The resistance you're facing today is preparing you. It's strengthening your character. It's building your trust and reliance in God. It's absolutely necessary in order to handle the growth you're about to have!
My question to you is this: Where were you headed before this detour, this distraction, this supposed setback? Where were you headed before the divorce, the unplanned pregnancy, the bankruptcy, the job loss, the diagnosis, the heartbreak? You may have to chart an alternate course to get to your destination. It may not be the route you planned or the time frame you anticipated but you're still successful as long as you keep moving toward your intended destination. Don't ever lose sight of where you were headed. God doesn't change his mind about your destiny. Nor should you! I love this story I heard from the late Myles Munroe who was having lunch with Dr. Oral Roberts and Corrie Ten Boom in 1976. Dr. Munroe asked Corrie what her secret was to having such stamina at 82 years of age. Boom replied, "Son, remember to live according to your vision; never according to your eyes." (Terri Savelle Foy, 1 July 2016 Newsletter)
When Peter in his eagerness walked on water towards Christ one stormy night his only desire was to be safe in the Saviour's presence. No doubt when he started to walk, believeing that he could, his sight was very much fixed on the person he wanted to be with but then he made one crucial mistake, for one moment he looked at the boisterous wind instead and no doubt felt the angry waves lapping at his feet and he grew afraid as he began to sink (Matthew 14:30). What happened to Peter's resolve to be reunited with his Master? Peter lost focus as he trusted his eyes more than his vision. When the storms of life hit, it is easy to only see the calamity that is unfolding in our lives. As our plane lands in some foreign land we never intended to visit, it very often obstructs the vision of our true destination.
When we walk out of the baptismal font newly washed and clean; or walk out of the temple freshly wedded to the companion of our choice, we often feel that we have made it and are on our way to celestial kingdom. Never in our wildest dreams do we envisage encountering any storms. We do not plan on divorcing when we marry; or plan to bury a child when we enter the labour ward to give birth; or schedule chemotherapy when we commit to live the Word of Wisdom. When we commit ourselves to the journey that will take us to eternal life, we often than not feel that we should, by virtue of our obedience, have a smooth ride. Obedience, however, is not the teacher but the pilot that lands the plane at the chosen destination. The trials of mortal life, though making it a bumpy ride, make the destination once reached, all the more sweeter for the lessons suffered are lessons learnt. The challenge before us is to keep the eternal perspective and remember where we were headed before the storm:
"If we looked at mortality as the whole existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put into proper perspective. Are we not exposed to temptations to test our strength, sickness that we might learn patience, death that we might be immortalized and glorified? If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected, and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith."
When we walk out of the baptismal font newly washed and clean; or walk out of the temple freshly wedded to the companion of our choice, we often feel that we have made it and are on our way to celestial kingdom. Never in our wildest dreams do we envisage encountering any storms. We do not plan on divorcing when we marry; or plan to bury a child when we enter the labour ward to give birth; or schedule chemotherapy when we commit to live the Word of Wisdom. When we commit ourselves to the journey that will take us to eternal life, we often than not feel that we should, by virtue of our obedience, have a smooth ride. Obedience, however, is not the teacher but the pilot that lands the plane at the chosen destination. The trials of mortal life, though making it a bumpy ride, make the destination once reached, all the more sweeter for the lessons suffered are lessons learnt. The challenge before us is to keep the eternal perspective and remember where we were headed before the storm:
"If we looked at mortality as the whole existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put into proper perspective. Are we not exposed to temptations to test our strength, sickness that we might learn patience, death that we might be immortalized and glorified? If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected, and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith."
(Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, p 97).
Being consistent in our obedience to 'small things' in everyday life will ensure that our vision stays clear and our eternal perspective focused: "Is our journey sometimes impeded when we forget the importance of small things? Do we realize that small events and choices determine the direction of our lives just as small helms determine the direction of great ships? We need to have family and personal prayers, study the scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon; hold family home evenings; follow the admonition of the Saviour to love one another; and be thoughtful, kind, and gentle within the family. Through these and other similar small and simple things, we have the promise that our lives will be filled with peace and joy" (Elder M. Russell Ballard, in CR Apr 1990 or Ensign May 1990, p 6,8). Once obtained, that peace and joy will see us through and past the storms of mortal life. It will become the governing force in our lives that will make the storms bearable and foreign lands memorable.
Being consistent in our obedience to 'small things' in everyday life will ensure that our vision stays clear and our eternal perspective focused: "Is our journey sometimes impeded when we forget the importance of small things? Do we realize that small events and choices determine the direction of our lives just as small helms determine the direction of great ships? We need to have family and personal prayers, study the scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon; hold family home evenings; follow the admonition of the Saviour to love one another; and be thoughtful, kind, and gentle within the family. Through these and other similar small and simple things, we have the promise that our lives will be filled with peace and joy" (Elder M. Russell Ballard, in CR Apr 1990 or Ensign May 1990, p 6,8). Once obtained, that peace and joy will see us through and past the storms of mortal life. It will become the governing force in our lives that will make the storms bearable and foreign lands memorable.
This is a false world and it will one day be done away with. You come with nothing into it and you go with nothing out of it. Except one thing - YOU. This world was constructed with obstacles, pitfalls, enticements and stumbling blocks. Your purpose while you are here is to learn to jump, push through, walk around, avoid and rise above. All this will be the making of the person you have to take back to eternity, YOU.
But learn that he who doeth
the works of righteousness
shall receive his reward,
even peace in this world,
and eternal life in the world to come.
D&C 59:23
