FAITH... a hope for things not seen

Jason was in charge of the lesson for Family Home Evening (the fifth Monday - which is our optional lesson Monday). It was Tyler's turn for the lesson, so Jason helped him out quite a bit. The lesson was on Faith. Jason talked about how important FAITH is and why it is the first principle of the gospel. He asked the kids what it meant to have faith in something. Their responses where simple and childlike - which is perfect when it comes to trying to understand faith. Each of the children sat, pretty attentive, on their scriptures squares for Dad. Jason is sitting in the lazy boy to the left (you just can't see him very well from this angle).

The next part of the lesson was actually the activity. He gave the kids each a turn to be blindfolded and to attempt to make it back to their special scripture square alone and in the dark, with a few obstacles in the way. (Just a childlike representation of what this life seems like if we don't have faith!) Kimberly got to go first. Being the middle child, she hardly ever gets picked first for anything, so she was extatic! Jason covered her eyes and asked her how many fingers he was holding up - she replied, "Five". "Perfect", Jason said. "She can't see a thing!"

He had her stand there and think about going back to her square and trying to figure out where it was! We cannot have faith alone - just a hope for something we cannot see. But, we MUST ACT on faith in order to truly understand the principle. Thus, she was instructed to find her way back. It's comforting to know that Kimberly eventually found her way back to her square, with only a few bumps and bruises from going off course! She could have given up along the way, but she endured!

Here are just a few pictures of Bryson trying to find his way back. He got to go a different route back to his square, with a few more obstacles in the way (hence, Michael in the way too!) And notice the extra reinforcement of the blindfold - that's because we have someone in the family who found a way to bend the rules and peeked through her blindfold. So, we had to make it pitch dark... and hopeless to see anything but darkness! Notice how he felt his way through the course - relying on his own touch to get back to his square!

This time Bryson got to go through the journey again, along a different route, with different obstacles, and still in darkness. But, this time he got to receive help! He got to listen to a still small voice (Jason) that subtlely guided him through the course - directing him on how many steps to take forward, left, right, etc. And even better - he had to keep his arms folded, so he couldn't use his own ability to "feel" his way through the course. He had to totally submit to the promptings of Jason. Because Bryson was TOTALLY obedient to the promptings he was given and had faith that Jason would direct him back to his square, Bryson made it safely back without running into ANY obstacles! The kids really took to this principle when they could actually SEE it!

And so it is in our own lives... Faith is the first and foremost important principle of the gospel. Even when we can't see our way, or see what the Lord has in store for us, we must rely on Him to help get us through the journey back to Him. He WILL help us. Do we listen as often as we should? Or do we rely on our own logic, own abilities, own understanding of how to get through the course? When the veil of darkness covers our eyes and we are left to wander through the maize of life, how much easier is it to have help to get through the course? Even more so - how easier is it to get through the course when we exercise TRUE OBEDIENCE, listening to every command that is given to us!? We might think we know our way back and might take a few more steps in one direction, just because we can. But, maybe that is not the way our Father in Heaven wants us to go through the course. If we listen closely, He will guide us in the direction He wants us to go. And if we have Faith, although we may not see the whole picture, we CAN return to Him again someday.

I am so grateful for the opportunity I have been given to come to this beautiful place, to meet such wonderful people, and to have so many faith-promoting experiences! There is no doubt that our journey has not been easy, or fun (for that matter), but so far it has been worth it. I have never felt the love of my Heavenly Father as clearly and as strongly in my life, as I have since moving here and experiencing the struggles we have had. During times when things seem hopeless (obviously an easy thing to do when you're unemployed and have more mouths to feed and house than your own), the adversary would want us to have great fear for the worst. And I can't honestly say that sometimes I don't have a little bit of fear - afterall, I am human! However, I know that you can't have fear AND faith in the Lord. No man can serve two masters! I have faith that if we are TRULY OBEDIENT in ALL things, and exercise FAITH, the Lord will provide a way for us, and we can have hope for things that we do not see!