Category: Pain

The unpleasant, hurtful feelings, both physical and emotional, that we all encounter.

Can We Be Prepared?

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Can we be prepared for famine, floods, fires and other forces that test our grain?
Violence, greed, pollution, dishonesty, and pornography all try our heart & brain.
Can we prepare for disaster, like our FATHER’S awesome fire?
When high winds carry infernal flames through our homes we much desire?

Can preparation help all these disasters that come in different ways?
Only our testimony of JESUS CHRIST, helps us through our darkest days.
We can learn from the HOLY GHOST, how to choose our safest path.
Only through our LORD’S true church can we grow strong through heaven’s wrath.

When we’ve felt the flames of wrath and lost all that we own,
Our hearts are stretched beyond ourselves, as we lose house or home.
Our tears flow more free for others grief; we see through deeper eyes
The heart-torn pain of strangers caught in devastation’s cries.

Disasters come in many forms: tsunamis roar, to lightning storms,
Volcanoes erupt, freezing rain, famine’s starvation, to war’s dark pain.
Please, LORD, help us to have eyes to truly see
The suffering of all caught in these last days tragedys.*

Remember, every trial we face is here to help us grow.
From war we learn the true joy in peace, from hate, we see love’s glow.
From the loss of precious loved ones, we can learn true empathy.
For others caught in sorrows song, our LORD’S charity gives us clarity.

We thank Thee LORD, for sorrow; it helps us past our pain.
We thank Thee, LORD, for heartache; it gives us deeper grain.
We thank Thee LORD, for clarity to see, taste, touch and feel,
That when trials pour upon us, we can serve, help and heal.

As oceans over jump their bound and armored insects roar,
On air fields and on freeways, we see men’s faces soar.
As jets and choppers shoot fire down at souls on land and sea,
We see the faces of those souls in the armored dragons of insanity.**

As earthquakes in diverse places increase, as heart attacks do grow,***
We hear John’s revelations play upon our heart, mind and soul.
May we remember JESUS CHRIST, and pray each dawn through eve,
And be prepared through these troubled last days; May we give love and receive.****

* Matthew 5:44
** Revelations chapter 9
*** Matthew 24:6-8
**** Luke 10: 30-37

The devastation of the camp fire in Paradise, California, has been foremost in our minds lately. I’m sure it has to do with our family, who were evacuated, and then learned of the total destruction of home and property. We live in a world full of pain and suffering, but we cannot allow this to immobilize us and to take away our hope. May God strengthen us to be His hands.

http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2009-05-22-o-remember-remember?lang=eng&_r=1

Icebergs

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How much do we really know about anyone else? We just see what that person allows us to see, or feel comfortable revealing. There is so much beneath the surface.

Each soul is like an iceberg that flows upon life’s sea.
We see the tip and think we know just who that might be.
But like earth’s flowing icebergs, the part we see is small,
Compared to the immensity that’s hidden beneath us all.

Within every person are parts we do not see.
They hold uncounted feelings within both you and me.
Few ever see these hidden things of each soul,
But they are real within us, and determine how we grow.

Each soul needs a true friend to know how they really feel;
To have someone who really cares is something that can heal.
An ear to hear, an eye to see, a heart to understand,
Can melt the coldest heartaches within each woman or man.

We each need loving friends to help us through our day,
To try to understand us and our deeper ways,
To care enough to listen to all our troubled thoughts,
We all need the warmth of God’s pure Son within God’s melting pot.


http:///www.lds.org/media-library/video/2015-06-015-dominoes?category=social-media-shareable-videos&lang=eng

Crossing Thresholds

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Crossing Thresholds

Unlike all previous posts, I inserted a text document. Just click on the above link and open the document. I’m curious to see how this works for you, and would really appreciate feedback. I suspect that you will not like this new “easy for me” style–too many clicks. Let me know.


I cried when I viewed the following link that shows a married couple and how they dealt with physical obstacles. I think that mental obstacles are also demonstrated. To me, it shows the unspeakable things that dwell deep inside the heart. No words are spoken because it doesn’t need any. Love trumps everything, doesn’t it?

www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-06-010-enduring-love?category=mormon-messages/mormon-messages-2013&lang=eng

Let Go

Jeanne 1 Comment

Several events over the last week have led me to the thought of “Letting go.” A friend of mine was blind-sided with the death of her husband, who is younger than me. As I put myself in her place, I realized how fortunate I am to have the companionship of a husband, even if it’s just sitting side by side watching tv. Think about it: How often during the day do you rely upon interaction with your spouse? Just knowing someone is there is priceless. It must be really difficult to let go of that season in your life.

On a note (not quite so somber as the last)…my grandchildren. Before they moved out of state, lived roughly a mile from our home. In 5 minutes, I could be there. In many ways, they depended on that. I drove them to school. They came by the house after school and I drove them home; sometimes stopping a McDonald’s if they hated school lunch that day. They were a big part of my time and life. And then they moved. 3 l/2 hours away. It left a hole that I still struggle to stop tripping over; and that hole was really big last week when they started school…a new school. I wanted so badly to be there and do whatever Grandmas do to make things better, or, at least to think you’ve made things better. It’s painful. I worried. I prayed. I fasted. I worried, and then I worried again. Then they got sick, and some had to miss school. I realized that I had to ‘let go’, just like I did before when they left.

I remember those days. I’d sit in the car and play the Mormon Tabernacle Choir verse of ‘How Firm a Foundation’…feeling the words: “Fear not, I am with thee, Oh, be not dismayed, for I am thy God and will still give thee aid. I’ll strengthen thee, help thee and cause thee to stand….” I’d play it loud and could almost imagine heavenly help descending upon me, not just from God, but from dear ones now departed who also cared deeply.

I have often confused control with security. Let go. Let go.

The frosty autumn nights
Bid the tree (glorious and alive)
Let go their precious golden leaves
That in days past, bid them survive.

In spring, the fledgling bird will grow
Now the mother tries her best
To prod it from the nest.
Let go.

We hold our babies close,
And treasure every show.
They now seek new horizons,
And we painfully,
Let go.

Our beloved ones, we cherish
And the winds of age do blow
Now they pass thru death’s door,
As our hearts are broken,
And we let go.

But hearts are healed
When we come to know,
A loving Father,
Will never
Let go.

This short video below helps me to let go. It helps me to trade fear for faith, and helps me remember that, even though I will be required to let go, I can be confident that God will never let go of me.

http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2017-01-0004-live-by-faith-not-by-fear?category=social-media-shareable-videos&lang=eng

When Changes Come

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Recently I came to know of a pending divorce in our family. Those most close to the couple expressed the hurtful feelings. Anger, fear and heartache are companions to a failing family. Divorce hits at the very roots of all that which brings us happiness. I have reflected upon the good fortune of having a companion. Our activities, both daily and others which require more planning, such as vacations, are richer when shared. What do we do when we see or experience something grand, or beautiful, or delightful? We seek to share with someone else. Somehow, this enhances the experience for me. When I look at my vacation photos, it’s just not a whole lot of fun to do it alone. And when I reflect upon what makes me happy, it usually involves family. There is a real power and bond there, and when it is broken, we are cut off from that which is intended to bring happiness.

How sad that it is such a common thing. What can we do to protect ourselves from falling victim? What makes some marriages so successful, and others not so?

When changes come, are they bad, or could they help us grow,
Through life’s storms and troubled tests, we feel for those we know.
When death comes with saddened eyes, we feel for those we love,
When sickness comes we long for days when health smiled from above.

When changes come, we try to cope, no matter what they are.
Through each trial, we each must strive to reach our own star.
When our journey brings us to an unfamiliar place,
We have a chance to start anew, within life’s fleeting race.

When changes come, we each must try, our best to grow,
To strive for greater knowledge, God’s wisdom helps us know.
For within each changing moment, we can become more whole.
For changes are tools that mold us within life’s wondrous show.

http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2009-07-28-marriage-and-divorce?lang=eng

Pioneer Day

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Yesterday in church our kids enacted a 30-minute pioneer trek, complete with covered wagon, bonnets, neckerchiefs,taffy, horehound, berries, buffalo chips, homemade butter and rolls, and a snake. My mind did wander back to my great grandmother, Sara Jane Richards Perkins, who left wales as a young woman, leaving family and friends, and ending up here in Magna, or Pleasant Green, as it was called then. Our lives are built upon the hard work of those ambitious faithful people. And so, as we celebrate pioneer day (July 24, 1847 being the day they entered the Salt Lake Valley), I will be grateful for, running water, shelter, food, shade, health care, comfortable shoes, beds and toilets.

http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2016-12-01-pioneer-journeys-more-than-a-trek?lang=eng

It Will All Work Out

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I am a very controlling person. I have to plan. I have to see a way. I have to know how it will all go. I suppose that’s ok for a holiday party, or something that is controllable, but, I know we all live in a world where very little is under our direction. We do not know what lies ahead, and we cannot force or control people or events. Trying to do so produces a lot of stress. I think that perhaps it is a lack of faith and trust….an inability to take some steps into the dark, not knowing where they lead. I can live quite well like this when things are going well, as planned, BUT, when the future seems uncertain or scary or threatening, that’s when the stress kicks in. This short video is very applicable to me; one that I hope I can internalize for a more peaceful and happy life.

http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2017-01-0004-live-by-faith-not-by-fear?category=topics/courage-and-fear&lang=eng

Do Unto Others

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When I read of Jesus as more than a man,
Who lived in, and walked on the deserts of sand,
Who suffered in silence in Gethsemane,
His atoning blood shed for you and for me,
Then hung on the cross and finally died,
“How can I repay Him,” I asked as I cried?
How can all my tears and my sorrow compare
To the grief and the suffering He felt and saw there?
How can I express to Him how much I care?
What could I have done when I wasn’t there?
How can I comfort my Savior in grief?
What can I do to give Him relief?
For all this occured years and eons ago,
My birth, It has been 2000 years slow.
Oh Jesus, please let me show you my love,
Although you now dwell in some sphere above.
Then a small voice within me did say,
“Do unto others and do it today.”

http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2015-06-016-matthew-2540?category=topics/service&lang=eng

Matthew 25:40

Sunshine and Shadows

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At the end of every rainbow, there’s a pot of gold.
And clouds are lined with silver, so I’m told.
But don’t you think a rainbow and a cloud are pretty too?
Must you always look ahead for gold to come to you?
Sometimes we need a friend so say, “There’s beauty in a storm,
Although the winds blow chilly cold, we can be safe and warm.”
And suddenly the sun breaks through–a bright and shiny ray.
Sometimes I need a friend like you to help me through the day.

It’s odd that I would write this poem, because I’ve always been one who suffers through trials. I’m the one who rolls their eyes if someone suggests to look for lessons or growth in hardship, and I have a really hard time thanking God for everything, including troubles. The poem reminds me of my Dad when I was a child. I was absolutely terrified of lighting and could not understand how he could sit out on the front porch and watch a lightning storm and enjoy it! Sometimes he would see my terror and pull me onto his lap and try to comfort me, which it did, until the next storm.

But I do believe that it is true about how we grow the best when we are challenged; when things are tough. And I have noticed that heartfelt prayer is a great tool.

The following it a short video from the MormonChannel.org. It deals with trials and adversity and comfort through prayer.

http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-01-002-comfort-in-trials?lang=eng

John 14:27: Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

My Old Friend Pain

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Last week I waged a battle with the back yard weeds. It felt so good to grab their bodies and jerk them from the soil. They are unwelcome visitors…they take up precious space. I could grow flowers or vegetables there. Handful after handful. I filled two large yellow leaf bags, and then looked around, and went for the squatters in another small-ish area, and then another, and then, just one more to fill the bag firmly. I was proud of myself. I had won the war, or, at least the battle of the day!

That afternoon, Bob and I went to the zoo…just to walk around and enjoy our favorite friends. I no sooner entered through the gate than I felt incredible drained and tired, and, the father I went, the more I realized that I was in pain. It actually took me a couple of days to realize that the weed-warrior had some serious battle scars in the low back!

So, I’ve been limping around and feeling old and broken. It reminds me of the poem Bob wrote many years ago when he cracked a vertebrae. I’m sure I’ve posted this one before, but, here it is again:

Each day I live you come to me,
Almost always by surprise.
You have no thought of decency,
From my tip-toes to my eyes.
Sometimes you stay just a little while,
Other times you stay too long.
And when you do, you sing to me, a very painful song.
But, dear old friend, thank God for you,
For without your warning signs,
I would not know and could not know
Those injuries of mine.
And I would probably bleed to death,
Or something just as bad,
If you weren’t there to counsel me
By helping me feel bad.
So, my dear friend, thank God for you
Just one more time.
‘Cause when you’re gone, and I feel good,
That feeling is sublime!

The following link is to mormonchannel.org and contains a 3-minute video of a man who endured a lot of pain. It makes me feel grateful that my pain will subside. It’s not something I have to live with, as so many others do (my husband included).

http://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/im-a-mormon/tim-hurst-running-on-faith

Share your stories of pain, please!