Learning to Fall

Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I have a tendency to fall. The other day, my companion, Sister Rathgeber, and I were waiting for an investigator to open her door. We had knocked a few times, but she wasn't home. As we were getting ready to turn around, I fell off her porch steps. I hadn't realized I was so close to the edge. Don't worry, I wasn't injured. We actually laugh about it frequently.

As missionaries, we have a preparation day to get ready for the week, so that we can give our full attention to missionary work throughout the rest of the week. On preparation day, or P-day, as we call it, we like to play volleyball sometimes. And it's guaranteed that I fall every single time we play. Usually multiple times in one day. It's true. Ask any missionary that's there, they'll confirm. Again, it never hurts; we all just laugh about it.

Just like we can fall physically, we can spiritually fall too. Life can be hard. Things can push us down, and we fall. Fall away from God, fall away from our testimonies, fall down to lonliness. The list goes on. But the important thing to remember is that there is someone there to catch us when we fall, to lift us back to our feet. His name is Jesus Christ. And He is always with us on this journey that we call life. He has been through everything we have been through. He knows how to help and comfort us. A prophet named Alma in the Book of Mormon teaches us, that Christ has suffered the pains and temptations of every man, He took upon Himself death, so that we might live. Because of this, He knows how to succor His people (Alma 7:11-12). To succor means to run to the aid of. Christ is running to our aid always.

I love this poem by Mary Stevenson. It explains so well how we feel in life, especially when we are falling.

I know that Christ lives. He is there to carry us when we fall, to help us back up. We can reach out to Him, because He is reaching out to us. He knows how we feel.

Listening to the words of a prophet can give us strength to get back up. I know there is a modern day prophet on the earth today, President Thomas S. Monson. He speaks to the world as the voice of God. His voice will carry to all ends of the earth, in General Conference, this upcoming weekend. (April 2 & 3, 2011: go to lds.org for details) He knows what God wants us to hear, and how we can act on it. The prophet will never lead us astray. As we follow him, we can know that we are doing what Heavenly Father wants us to do. And that right there can give us the courage to get back up when we fall.

Thanks for reading. Until next time...