Heavenly Father knows the beginning to the end. He has a plan for us, and is involved in the very intricate details of our life.When I think of God helping us, and having a plan for us I think of the poem Footprints. To summarize a man is looking back on his life, and he sees two sets of footprints in the sand, one is his, and the other is Gods. As he looks he notices during times of struggle there is only one set of footprints. He turns to God and asks him why he left him during his most challenging times, and God replies. "I did not leave you, I carried you."
God is not only with us during the challenging times he is there before the challenging times begin. He has a plan, and he is making sure we are taken care of.
At the beginning of July, I received a phone message from the Sister Missionaries, letting me know I was invited, along with them, to see a my church friend Steve take out his endowments on July 13th. They were wondering if I could give them a ride to the temple. I had a trial scheduled for July 15th, and was worried I would not have time to prepare for trial--typically I spend most of my Saturday in trial prep. I decided I would go, and I would find a way to get everything done earlier in the week so I would only have to work half a day on Saturday.
The Sunday following the Sister Missionaries phone call, I received a text from them letting me know Steve had decided to go to the Nauvoo temple to take out his endowments, instead of the Winter Headquarters temple. This changed everything. It added an extra three hours to the entire trip. If I took them I would not be able to work on my trial on Saturday. I knew I was supposed to go, so I told them I would take them, and we would go to the pageant too. I gave the caveat if things needed to change I would let them know by Monday evening. There was no doubt in my mind I would take them. I knew this was what Heavenly Father wanted, so I planned accordingly.
I asked friends and family members to pray my trial would get changed or dismissed. I also asked them to pray I would be able to get everything done I needed. Not only did I have a trial coming up, but I had two hearings, and a deposition--which meant most of my week was eaten up. My plan was to work every night until 11 pm if necessary, so I would not have to worry about prepping for my trial.
On Tuesday as I was finishing up the last preparations for my afternoon deposition I received a phone call from the county prosecutor cancelling the deposition. We then reached an agreement that moved the trial with the charges eventually getting dismissed! My prayers were answered. Now all that was on my plate were the hearings on Wednesday which would not prevent me from taking the Sister Missionaries to Nauvoo. Things were working great.On Thursday, two days before I was to go to Nauvoo, I received information that brought me great sorrow, and many, many tears. When I was alone the tears came easily. When I was people I was able to ward them off for the most part. But Heavenly Father had a plan.
Friday evening after work I fed the sister missionaries, and then spent the rest of the night making preparations for food to take to Nauvoo. My Saturday began at about 5:00 am. I was with the sister missionaries until 2:30 am the next day. We spent the next 10 hours traveling, singing, going to the temple, and seeing the sights at Nauvoo. I had some very personal spiritual experiences, and felt peace and love from my Heavenly Father. I was not alone, and tears were much less than if I had been.When I agreed to take the sister missionaries to Nauvoo I thought it was to help them, but it turns out Heavenly Father knew better. He knew the sorrow I was going to be faced with. He knew I needed to be with people, to not be alone, and he put that plan into action in the early part of July, long before the events that brought me sorrow came to fruition. Heavenly Father made sure I was not alone that weekend.
Recently I came across this quote from Jeffrey R. Holland:
"Somehow God can focus on every one of us personally, know the concerns and fears of each one of us uniquely. In those times of our need, it is as if no other voice distracts Him, no other need in the universe diverts Him. In those moments when we especially need Him, in times of trouble or otherwise, we are seemingly the sole object of His affection and attention."
Not only are we the sole object of his affection and attention during times of trouble, he is there prior to those time--he is there always. Each of us are children of our Heavenly Father, and he has a plan for each of us. He knows the beginning to the end, and we just need to have the faith to move forward and trust in that plan. By doing so we will find a love that is incomprehensible.
