“May we recalculate our route if need be and look forward with great hope and faith. May we “stand up inside” by being valiant and “all in.” – Gary B. Sabin
We’ve made the trip from Iowa to Arizona at least 30 times, it always has patches of desolation. This time we took a different turn than normal to find a restaurant that was highly recommended. From there the GPS took us on a stretch of no-man’s-land that we have never experienced. There wasn’t a car, house, or even a deer for hours. To make things our cells phone had no service. I can’t lie, it was a bit spooky, we were just thankful that the weather was good, and our gas tank was full. We finally ran into a gas station, just in time before we ran out, and the cashier told us of the severe blizzards they had last week and how travel was near impossible. The reason this road was not traveled was because it was a dangerous one. It was risky. Getting to your destination was highly dependent on conditions that were out of our control. We realized that it would have been wiser to have backtracked a few miles to keep on the safe, well planned road, rather than following this path just because we veered off a little. In our case we never hit bad weather, and our vehicle didn’t have any troubles. We were able to make it home safely. However, had we traveled that same path just a few days prior, we would have been stuck for endless hours on the side of a road due to heavy freezing blizzards, no cell service, and no one driving past to seek help for us.
This experience was such a visual to me of the straight and narrow path that the Lord has planned for us to help us avoid the blizzards of life. He is well aware of the uncertainty that exists when we step off the path. It must be nerve wracking to watch us continue off in the wrong direction, away from all help and safety. He also knows that the once off the well planned path, the designer of the other path doesn’t stop for his travelers, he abandons them and enjoys watching the misery, as one desperately tries to make it to the gas station. However, the worse scenario is the stranded traveler, who is all alone in great need of nourishment and water, yet, there’s no one to rescue them. They call out, but no one is around them. They are left on their own to try and figure out a way home. If the weather is below freezing, their time is even more limited for they are now fighting for their life of just a few hours. They aren’t prepared with an emergency kit, warm blankets, food or water.
This is the lost sheep. This is the wayward teenager, who appears unapproachable. This is the neighbor who made a big mistake and is now judged by all. This is the addict that is stuck in an internal prison of despair. There is no shortage of hurt and pain in the world, and we must be ready to share our spiritual nourishment with those who need it. The Holy Ghost will guide us to who, what, where and how! All we have to do is be willing to respond. How quickly would you respond if you knew that a stranded traveler was in need of immediately supplies? We need to respond that quickly for spiritual emergencies as well.
“Some of you…have family members who have temporarily lost their way. The Savior’s instruction to all who have 100 sheep is to leave the ninety and nine and go after and rescue the one. His instruction to those who have 10 pieces of silver and lose one is to search until you find it. When the lost one is your son or your daughter, your brother or your sister, and he or she has chosen to leave, we learned in our family that, after all we can do, we love that person with all of our hearts and we watch, we pray, and we wait for the Lord’s hand to be revealed.
Perhaps the most important lesson the Lord taught me through this process happened during our family scripture study after my sister had left the Church. Our son David was reading as we studied together Luke 15. As he read the parable of the prodigal son, I heard it differently that day than I had ever heard it before. For some reason, I had always related to the son who stayed home. As David read that morning, I realized that in some ways I was the prodigal son. All of us fall short of the glory of the Father (see Romans 3:23). All of us need the Savior’s Atonement to heal us. All of us are lost and need to be found. This revelation that day helped me know that my sister and I both needed the Savior’s love and His Atonement. Susan and I were actually on the same path back home.
The Savior’s words in the parable as He describes the father greeting his prodigal son are powerful, and I believe they may be the description of the experience you and I will have with the Father when we return to our heavenly home. They teach us of a father who loves, waits, and watches. These are the words of the Savior: “When he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).
May you and I receive the revelation to know how to best approach those in our lives who are lost and, when necessary, to have the patience and love of our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, as we love, watch, and wait for the prodigal.” -Brent H. Nielson
-Sherri Jorgensen
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