In the strength of the Lord

 I had one of those Sundays where the thoughts from church have stayed with me and I received some revelation. I don't want to lose what's in my mind so here I am writing it down. 

A brother in Sacrament Meeting told a story of his family's farm in Idaho when he was six years old. The bishop had asked the ward members to pay double the amount they typically would for fast offerings. The promise was made that they wouldn't go without what the offerings are used for - food. 

The father lost his job and they needed a way to feed their family. They had an acre garden that was to be their source of food. The garden was planted on time and soon grew with a great harvest. A 20 minute hail storm turned around the state of the garden and everything was ripped to shreds. 

The next Sunday, while the mother was home from church she began to pray for a way to feed her family. She knew God had made them a promise since they paid fast offerings. 

She had the impression that Heavenly Father couldn't fix what had happened to their garden, but He could make seeds grow if they were replanted. 

Even though it was late in the season, the family went to work, removing and replanting the acre garden. Miraculously, the garden grew and the harvest was greater than had ever been before in years past. The physical harvest supported their family that year. The spiritual harvest and testimony has lasted a lifetime. 

What stuck with me is the testimony of the mother: God can't repair what has been done, but He can make planted seeds to grow. They went to work and saw the miracles. 

Fast forward to the next hour in Sunday School. One of the prompts from the Come Follow Me lesson said this:

The question, "What does it mean to you to go forth 'in the strength of the Lord'"? stood out to me. I thought of the previous story and how the family had to "go forth" first to see the miracles. 

It was brought to my mind the last time I went to the temple. As I sat in the celestial room, I was reminded of how the Lord had strengthened me in the last six months as we moved to Germany and Logan was born. Before moving to Germany, we had prepared and done all that we could logistically to be ready for our move. It was time to actually go and go forth. After we went, the Lord strengthened us. 

It was a tender insight that really made an imprint on my mind and heart. Jesus Christ will ALWAYS be there to strengthen us. But first, we must go forth in faith and repentance. 

A few weeks ago, I was talking to Mom on the phone. I told her I wanted to learn more about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how I could use it more every day. At the end of the call, the sister missionaries had buzzed our doorbell and randomly stopped by for a visit. First time that's ever happened! 

At the end of the visit I asked them my question and if they had any study suggestions for learning more about Christ's Atonement. 

The referred me to this talk, which has helped me immensely. I'm still studying and learning from it. Here's a thought from it that I've loved studying.

A garden was planted, the stripling warriors went to war, Nephi began building a ship, I moved to Germany. For the Lord to strengthen us, we have to go. 

Grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who hears my prayers and answers them. 

Cute sisters who came to visit. <3