Something I'm learning is that difficulty can be beautiful while still being difficult, loss can be important while still deeply sad, and that the Lord uses grief to refine us into more perfect versions of ourselves... while still allowing us to feel the pain of refinement. My good friend shared this poem with me after she has a miscarriage. I'll never forget it.
Michiko Dead
He manages like somebody carrying a box
that is too heavy, first with his arms
underneath. When their strength gives out,
he moves the hands forward, hooking them
on the corners, pulling the weight against
his chest. He moves his thumbs slightly
when the fingers begin to tire, and it makes
different muscles take over. Afterward,
he carries it on his shoulder, until the blood
drains out of the arm that is stretched up
to steady the box and the arm goes numb. But now
the man can hold underneath again, so that
he can go on without ever putting the box down.
Jack Gilbert, “Michiko Dead” from The Great Fires: Poems 1982-1992. Copyright © 1994 by Jack Gilbert.
I'm learning that the Lord uses sadness to teach us to love the sad and He uses weariness to teach us to succor the weary. He can take a child who has suffered and use them to help other suffering children. I can recognize simultaneously that trials are hard but also that they are necessary. The necessariness doesn't decrease the hardness, but it does put it into better perspective. And there may be some days when burdens seem heavier than other days, but that is okay because although He can't always take it entirely off your shoulders, He most certainly can strengthen your back. And I can be grateful for that.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along.[D&C 78:17–18]
I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, . . . and mine angels [shall be] round about you, to bear you up. [D&C 84:88]
2 comments:
This poem is (obviously) extremely meaningful to me. Glad it could help lift you a little as well. Now come over and watch Pushing Dasies already!
Beautiful, Lizzie! I agree with every word. I have found myself feeling grateful for trials at the moments when I am helping someone through the same type of trial. I have also found that helping people in these moments brings the ability for me to heal as well.
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