Sunday, February 24, 2013

Trials of Faith...The Bread of Life Section

Sunday is the day I share a little of my soul. Enjoy.

Today I'm going to be a little real. I think that's healthy.  I have a dear friend whose husband has suffered some trauma and has been unable to work for mental health reasons. She had to return to work to support her family financially and has received a few very judgmental comments from people looking in on her life and telling her what they think she should do. Some have been well-intended. Some have been down-right callous. Later this week, another friend with a similar challenge with her spouse said something to me that really made me think, " Too often I find people who profess to follow the Savior but then say something that proves they don't understand anything he taught."

I am reminded of the fact that though we can look at someone else's life and offer them advice, the scope and extent of any trial that someone else has to go through will be very personal to them. It is easy to say, "Try harder. It shouldn't be a challenge. You haven't tried all you can do." It is another thing entirely to be that person. The atonement was personal for a reason. Nobody else, not even someone very close to us can really know what we're dealing with deep inside our own hearts. It is a personal atonement because our challenges are personal!

 Think of Jesus’s words to Peter:
“Simon, … Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
“But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.”

Peter himself later encouraged others: “Think it not strange,” he said, “concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.”

I for one have questioned why I've had to experience a trial of faith, when there it is...Peter said it. "think it not strange..." We're going to have trials. That is part of the journey of this life. 

Then I read these words, "These fiery trials are designed to make you stronger, but they have the potential to diminish or even destroy your trust in the Son of God and to weaken your resolve to keep your promises to Him. These trials are often camouflaged, making them difficult to identify. They take root in our weaknesses, our vulnerabilities, our sensitivities, or in those things that matter most to us. A real but manageable test for one can be a fiery trial for another." by Elder Neil Andersen

God is in charge, but that doesn't mean that it will ever be simple or that our trying harder will fix it. Holding His hands will...

 To my friends... You and your sweet husbands are in my prayers. Just know you're loved darlings.  I'm quite certain that this is why we have each other on earth and the few and far between who actually really get what it was about! Jesus came for each one of us. It was personal to Him.  It isn't about what someone else's experience is with this, it is a personal atonement...personal experiences...personal redemption...personal real bitter "to the edge of Abraham's Alter" struggles. Whatever you lay at His feet, he will understand. Does that mean he'll take away the pain and the anger all at once? Not always. It means, you'll have a friend to walk with you through the darkness. Hold on tight. 

There it is.

Always My Very Best,
Tess

8 comments:

Crafty Crusader said...

It breaks my heart to hear of your friend being judged so harshly when she is already going through a difficult & traumatic situation...and coming from so -called "Believers" too...no surprise to me though...the most critical, judgmental & hypocritical people I have seen have been Christians...it's no surprise that a haughty self-absorbed believer would take focus off their own tests & trials by throwing criticism on another. I've always been amazed how, although our Beloved GOD has placed NUMEROUS instructs in the Bible about NOT JUDGING OTHERS, that we should LOVE THEM WITH OUR LIGHT INSTEAD...yet judgmental believers infest our world. The parable of the splinter in a bothers eye versus a PLANK in our own eye should be WARNING ENOUGH!! People try to rationalize their busy-bodyness with supposed "good intentions" but that is just a facade for being judgmental & UNACCEPTABLE and NOT operating in LOVE...but that's just my opinion...however, I have lived it from both sides of the pointing finger, so I know what I'm talking about...Judgment does no one any good, especially the one being judgmental, that's for sure!! So give your friend my full support!! Would these others prefer she go on Welfare instead of teaching her children to learn how to manage their lives with courage, conviction & active participation in their own survival? ...just sayin <3

Chef Tess said...

It is just a big part of human nature to judge others. I think it depends on the faith, but I've seen the judgmental behavior across the board, not just among Christians. Whenever someone tends to think they are right and others are wrong, the self-righteousness begins. That is the pride that is often spoken of most of all in scriptures. Pride is enmity. It is pitting your own will against anyone or anything that you think you know more about. It comes in may ways but more often than not it is when we compare anything to that of another and think we're superior that we become guilty of pride.I have so many faults and so many imperfections I'm too focused on trying to fix what's wrong in my own world than look at someone else's world. I think that's what Jesus was all about. Keep it focused on the relationship one has with their own God. After all, that is what the final measure will be. Did one really live up to the teaching they professed to follow and did they become a hindrance or a catalyst for good and Love in this world.

Crafty Crusader said...

I totally agree. It is unfortunately human nature to judge others. I, too, have so much junk in my own trunk to deal with, that other then my kids, i am trying not to push my will or rules onto others unless they ask for my help, but its a huge daily effort, thats for sure. The reason I mentioned primarily Christians (& all Biblical followers & believers) in my comment is because we (in the general sense) are the ones telling everyone that "We have all the answers" and how to supposedly "properly" behave. (I am a Messianic Jew so I've seen a lot of judgment & criticism about how i live my faith). I have also ignorantly dished it out...I am still a work in progress. It truly hurts my heart when I hear of someone getting treated unfairly. Perhaps I'm too sensitive to this issue and should have kept my thoughts to myself...but I truly feel bad for your friend so I stuck my nose in to the fray.

Chef Tess said...

I love you Deanne. I agree. People are good, people are bad...so am I. Some of my dearest friends have been Jews. It's all about love isn't it? Just remembering to love. That's what I'm all about. trying to love others and myself and be a good person. Do I always succeed, nope. Have I been a judgmental idiot? Yup. I think that's what makes this such a good topic.

Kristin said...

What a beautiful message. I, too, went through what your friends are going through. My husband suffered from bi-polar disorder. He attempted suicide. He got involved in so many things I don't even want to mention. He made my life a mess. But, I continued to stand by him through all of it, because that is what the Savior would have done. I had family, friends, and more, tell me to leave him. There were days when I really wanted to. But, I didn't. He was the one who finally left. It hurt like crazy when he did because I had stood by him through EVERYTHING he had done - to himself, to me, to us. But, in the end, after months and months, and now years, I look at the gift I received - freedom - as the Lord's blessing for serving my husband through his trials and also for serving Him as He would have served me.

Anonymous said...

Your son's name is Face? Is this a Mormon website?

Chef Tess said...

Face is his nick-name. I don't use real names of my kids on the blog. :)

Chef Tess said...

By the way, this is not a Mormon website. I'm am a member of the church, but this is a personal blog.