A favorite quote my Rumi

I have felt, talked about, and overcome more stress and anxiety in the last couple days than I ever have. The way I chose to do so was with the Lord. I have gone through enough to realize that it is best to be in the center of a storm with the Lord than anywhere else without Him. I knew that to pass through troubling times I needed His light and love and also understanding.
I started out with faith enough that everything would be okay, but that didn't stop me from worrying. I worried that everything would be okay, but maybe in a "Job" kind of way, meaning, I would lose everything but know in my heart that I would be okay. Even though this was a respectable thought, it is not what I want. I don't think anyone wants to feel that they have to lose it all just to feel God with them.
I continued to pray for peace and reassurance that I would be okay. I asked not only for the spirit to dwell with me, but I asked that people in my life would reassure me. I told my Father that His spiritual confirmations were still leaving me in fear, because of my own weakness. I was afraid that I was imagining the answer to my prayer because I was hoping for it so much. Through His infinite love and mercy, my Father sent me those people.
That is what brings me to the Rumi quote that kept running through my mind. It reads, "Live your life like everything is rigged in your favor." I started to imagine the reasons that the Lord would need me to pass through this, and I started to see an image of a chrysalis and a butterfly struggling to emerge from the dark, pressurized environment. I saw my own life in this image. I saw the pressure creating the diamond. As people in my life kept appearing when I needed them most or texting an uplifting message at just the right time, I grew in my love and faith.
Now I know that the struggles may continue but I feel Heavenly Father reminding me that I don't have to really "go through it", I have to "get through it" instead. The difference is, I am in suffering temporarily and it will serve as a reminder to me to do what I know how to do to turn struggles over to my Savior, seek peace from the true source, and wait upon the Lord's timing for deliverance. I don't have to believe that the struggle is a part of me, or that I deserve to struggle because I am not perfect, I just have to pass through hard things so that I can learn to live more in line with my Savior and overcome the world.

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