George and Jesus
Pencil sketch by
Mikaela Lang Nielsen
“For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever . . .”
Faced with tragedy we plead for miracles. We join together in faith and mighty prayer to petition that somehow the weighty impact of mortality might be tempered, reversed or altogether erased. We plead to know, “why me? Why our child? Why our family?”
In this life we are to walk by faith. But the true test of faith doesn't come in asking for and believing in miracles. I've seen miracles in my life and in the lives of my family. I know the Lord loves us and He is able. True faith is what remains when our will and the Lord's will don't meet. True faith enables us to still have the courage and conviction to to continue believing and press forward.
It takes faith to move mountains. It takes even more faith to climb the mountains that, for God's purposes, remain for us to hike up and over. Prayers are not always answered in the way we would like or in the time frame that we have in mind. Through mortal experiences we are given the opportunity to grow stronger in our humility. This happens as we yield the desires of our hearts, in complete submissiveness, to the will of Heavenly Father.
In doing so we follow the example of Jesus when in the garden of Gethsemane he plead with His father,
“Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42)
It is only by being humble and submissive that we can develop the steadfastness of faith in Christ that will permit us to receive the spiritual promptings necessary to comprehend the will of our Heavenly Father. Faith in Jesus Christ and humility afford us the peace of mind to allow the “why” questions to go unanswered.
In the Old Testament three of Daniel’s friends were Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. They were faithful in remembering the Lord their God. As a result of their strict obedience to God’s law they were brought before the powerful King Nebuchadnezzar. Surely they could’ve asked, “why us?”
They were given the choice to either bow down and worship the king’s golden image or be cast into a fiery furnace. Ever think what you would do if you were in their place?
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said to the king:
“O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
“But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (Daniel 3:16-18; emphasis added).
In their bold refusal to compromise their commitment to worship the only true and living God is the phrase “but if not.” They were obedient and they had faith. But they did not know what the outcome would be.
It should not be surprising that we too will be faced with challenging trials, and difficult choices. And even though we are obedient and have faith we will not always be guaranteed the outcome we desire. Nevertheless, while the outcome may remain in doubt, the income is guaranteed. In other words, the blessings promised for faithful obedience are sure to be ours (see D&C 82:10).
When I was in elementary school time seemed to move more slowly. Three months of summer vacation often left me bored and by August I was ready for school to begin. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed hanging out with my friends at Orcutt Park and playing street baseball.
Now time seems to fly. The seconds aren’t any quicker and days aren’t any shorter, but my reckoning of time has changed. If only there was a way slow things down again or to add more hours to the day. The whole idea of daylight savings, as if we could actually save daylight, has always intrigued me. I wake up an hour earlier. Drive to work in the dark. And in exchange I feel better, like I added an hour to my life, because when I get home there is one more hour of day light to do things.
Time is short. The older I get the faster it flies, the shorter is seems and the more I could use a few more hours in the day.
Life is like a stage play. For some it’s a musical, others a mystery, and still others a continually unfolding drama. We each take a turn on the stage of mortality, that much is a requirement for our eternal progression, acting out the part given to us. On either side of the stage is a curtain, a veil as the scriptures tell us. On stage left, behind the curtain are actors waiting to appear on stage. There is an air of excitement and anticipation as they rehearse their parts amidst some last minute coaching and encouragement. “Remember to hit your mark,” says one coach. “Enunciate your lines clearly. Deliver them with conviction,” says another. “Act well your part,” the final admonition from the producer.
“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”
All too quickly our role is finished, our part has been played and it’s time to exit stage right—through another veil of sorts. Again we are greeted by the producers (our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ). With them are family and loved ones—our biggest fans who stood silently off stage watching, praying and cheering us on. It’s a grand reunion and celebration.
Still, even with an understanding of what awaits, we wish for a little more time. To play one more role or to linger on stage to watch others perform their parts. We stand on stage and welcome with great expectations the newest actors. We coach and encourage them from the moment of their debut and expect that they will remain acting their parts long after we’ve retired.
It seems only natural that we should exit this life in the same order as we entered into it. But alas, it is not always to be so. At times we are left to question the brevity of their time on stage, while marveling at how entirely unforgettable their performance was. Our hearts are forever changed—enlarged—and can never go back to the way they were before these smallest of actors blessed our lives.
“The only length of life that seems to satisfy the longings of the human heart is life everlasting.”
Grieving parents remain on stage, not entirely alone, but lonely nonetheless. Asked to act well their new roles, “the show must go on.” For a brief instant the hands of time stand still—heavy from their recent burdens, exhausted from their tireless vigil. They endure with a measure of melancholy and sadness as their burdens are made light and their hearts are warmed by the Holy Ghost. This heaven sent comforter blankets them with an enriched, eternal perspective. Through him they catch a glimpse of heaven’s time table—Celestial Savings Time. Not at all like daylight savings time. For in Celestial Savings Time, time is preserved, children remain children and in accordance with heaven's perfect order are at a future time reunited with their faithful parents. A time and a place where longing arms gather up their children and are empty no more. Face to face, they know and are again known by their little ones. Families are eternal. They are of lasting construct—built according to Celestial covenants and laws.
One father described it this way, "They say that time in heaven is compared to the 'blink of an eye' for us here on earth. Sometimes it helps me to think of my daughter running ahead of me through a beautiful field of wildflowers and butterflies; so happy and completely caught up in what she's is doing, that by the time she turns around to see if I'm behind her...I will be!"
I believe in time George’s parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins will know that his path through mortality was intended by a kind Heavenly Father to be shorter and easier than theirs and that he has now hurried on ahead to be a welcoming presence when they someday cross over that same threshold.
There is no end to memories
Of those we know and love.
There is no end to the peace
That comes from God above.
There is no end to family.
There is no end to Love.
There is no end to eternity
Because of God above.
There is no end in death
Because of God’s great love.
But instead a grand reunion
In heaven’s courts above.
God’s works are never ending,
They are one eternal round.
In heaven as they were on earth
Celestial families will be found.
Yesterday's the past, tomorrow's the future, but today is a gift. That's why it's called the present. And the best present any of us can give is love—to hug our spouses a little longer, to embrace our children and grandchildren tightly and to tell them all, as often as we can, how much we love and appreciate them.