A Mother is a Door....

Tonight (this was back in February) I teach John 10 in Institute class.  I have loved studying and pondering the Book of John and I have been quite arrested by the boldness and unconventionality of the Savior as depicted by John.  He spoke forthrightly and without apology about truth, including who He was.

John 10 is the famous chapter about the sheepfold, the shepherd, the hireling and the door to the sheepfold.  The Savior is not only the shepherd, he is also the door.  He is not just a hireling as he lays down his life for the sheep.  (I remember being told when we were in Israel that the shepherd would lie down and sleep in the doorway at night to guard the sheep.) 

I believe a true mother, like the Savior, is a door.  The mother lays down her life for the child to enter into the world.  She is the doorway into mortality.  She continues to lay down her life all of her years for the well-being and protection and teaching of her children.  Her children hear her voice and know her.  (Not that hearing her voice necessarily translates into obeying her voice. as we all know! :) The act of motherhood is so closely related to the role of a Savior.  (And the Savior’s role is the catalyst for our second birth, our spiritual birth.)  For some time now "modern thought" seems to be subtlety changing a mother’s role to that of a hireling.  Her children are just another job in her life, and once the younger years of physical care are passed she can dive back into her career.  Rather than being the core of her life her children are one of the many balls that she juggles.  When robbers and thieves appear threatening her child’s spiritual life she inadvertently and without realization does not have the time and resources and spiritual strength to fend off the attack.  She and her children become victimized, thrown to and fro by the world and its ways. I don't intend this to be a statement that women should do nothing else beyond child rearing.  An active and vibrant life is an enriching example to children.  I am speaking more about a focus, an eternal commitment, a prioritization of life's purposes, being aware, being available and having a spiritual reserve from whence to draw as extraordinary wisdom is needed during exacting circumstances.  I am talking about being "the door" and "the shepherd" as our children come and go.

Our Father as a Merciful Teacher

I obviously intended to write something here and was distracted.  That’s too bad because I like the title – a lot!  But for the life of me I can’t remember what train of thought I was following.  It will have to be saved for the resurrection when all of my lost and wandering thoughts will be restored.

And Immediately.....

 

16 And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea,

17 And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum.  And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.

18 And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.

19 So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.

20 But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.

21 Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.

(New Testament | John 6:17 - 21)

I taught these verses in institute last week and I wondered at the small miracle that was lost amid the larger recounting of Jesus walking on the water. 

“…and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.”

I found my answer while reading Light in the Wilderness by M. Catherine Thomas a few days later.  When we accept the Savior fully into our lives as a living miracle (when we let Him, I mean really let Him, get into our boat) then we don’t just witness the miracle from afar, the walking on the water, but we ourselves are suddenly at our destination or have suddenly progressed along our path in an instant.  We have received the mighty change that Alma and Paul received, that the Lamanites received.  We are new creatures of a sudden in Christ. 

Elder Richard G. Scott talks about this idea and the necessary companion or catalyst of obedience in the process:

“The Lord is asking for a total commitment to serve.  Learning from the Lord is not a linear equation where you keep a commandment and you learn more.  He expects us to live as fully as we can, and the closer we get to perfection in that, then there is a sudden, powerful increase in his ability to communicate to us, inspire us to know what to do, and to give us the power or capacity to do it.”  (Devotional at Provo Utah MTC, Jun.13, 1995)

In other words, we need to get the Savior in the boat with us by obeying with exactness as did the Sons of Helaman.  Sometimes we excuse ourselves from exactness because of our humanity.  We realize that most of our progress is gradual and that we learn “line upon line, precept upon precept.”  The journey is full of ups and down and byways.  But there is moment of commitment, a desire to give our heart, a decision to change where we put our full attention. We give up our own will and allow it to be swallowed up in the will of the Savior.  We trust Him.  The journey seems hard and rough until that point.  “Trying” to trust the Lord is full of trepidation and hesitation.  Actually doing it is the easy part.  Of course, the adversary is confusing us continually with mist of darkness.  He is blocking our vision so we cannot see.  It requires faith to penetrate the fog and see the Savior there walking upon the water.  

The real abundance, the fullness of the fruits of the gospel, the feast occurs when we can obey with exactness.  Before that we have a taste here and there from the spirit but not fullness.  We receive spiritual nourishment off and on but it’s more rationed, because we are rationing out our obedience as well.  All of this is a continuing labor.  We must forsake the large and spacious building, (oh, what a challenge that is!), we must grasp tightly the rod with both hands, we trod the strait and narrow path.  When we are weary of the dark and dreary waste,  the waste of our time, the waste of our labors, the waste of the days of our probation; weary of the mists of darkness, weary of not being able to see where we are and where we are going, like Lehi, we call upon the Lord and He will come.  He will be in our boat and the tree of life with its most joyous fruit will be there. 

This scenario seems to be played out over and over again in both large and small ways.  Our Father is a merciful teacher.