Then

Jeffery R. Holland stated, "It is the plain and very sobering truth that before great moments, certainly before great spiritual moments, there can come adversity, opposition, and darkness."


Today I was looking closely at a nativity set. Mary had a flower in her curled hair. She had make-up on and looked poised and ready for her picture to be taken. I thought how strange that was. Then I imagined what Mary must have really looked like just after giving birth to the Christ child. I imagine her hair was a bit messy. Her face probably was not fancy. She was most likely exhausted after a long journey and then labor and delivery. She was not dressed in her best clothes. She was most likely looking weak.

So, because of who I am, my mind turned to my labors. Moments before the births of my children, I looked and sounded at my worst. I cried. I had let it all go. I had completely surrendered and succumbed to what was happening to my body. I didn’t care how I looked. Society tells me, as a woman, to look beautiful by their standards is when I should feel my best. When I am dressed in cute clothes and my hair lays just right, then I should feel happy. Yet, it was after these moments of complete fragility and tenderness that I then experienced the most empowering experences of my life. I felt strong and confident. I felt of the power of God. I felt like a truly beautiful and capable woman.

I have felt this in the spiritual realm of my life as well. At the times that are the hardest, times that I do not think I can handle what I have been given, or think that I cannot move on, that is when I surrender to God and feel His peace. I then feel strong, through Him, and know that I will be okay and all will be well. It has happened time and time again.

There are moments in our lives that make us weak and frail and then we truly experience great strength. Who has ever thought a runner was weak minutes before he crossed the finish line?