Trust

Daughter Elizabeth & husband Tim

TRUST !
      In whom do I trust?  What evidence is there that I trust the Lord in all things?  Lehi trusted him enough to go to town and preach to all his friends, neighbors and enemies that they were going to be destroyed if they did not repent.  Then he trusted God enough to leave EVERYTHING and go into the wilderness with only his family (he must of told them they were going camping and didn't tell them how long they were going for), some tents, and survival gear.  Now that is trust, complete trust.  I'm sure after the first week when everyone was dirty, sweaty, bored and lonely for their friends in the city the murmuring began.  I can hear it now " Please let us go back, this is no fun, I miss my friends, the market place and all the conveniences of being in the big city."  Constant complaining had to be very wearing on Lehi, yet he trusted the Lord and was not going to give into his children's whining. 
     I know in my life it's hard to not give in just to keep the whining to a minimum.  I have also noticed that the Lord seldom shows me the "Big Picture" he shows me just enough to get to the next rut in the road,  just one step at a time and it's for my benefit so I can exercise my faith and trust each day rather than see the end from the beginning.  When I am reading the Book of Mormon I know the big picture so I think, Oh yeah, I could do that, but they didn't see it all, they just were told one thing at a time.
     I also was impressed how Lehi always offered thanks after everything that happened to him and his family.....not just the good things but to bad things too.  He found that "gratitude in all things" brought him blessings and he found strength to carry on.
I could tell you many experiences when I didn't trust the Lord and relied upon myself or the arm of flesh for guidance and how things never worked out.....Instead I will tell you of a time early in our marriage when I did trust in the Lord and He delivered instantly......

     We were living in New York City when John was in the Coast Guard.  I was expecting our second child and was very ill and had to quit work.  There was no way we would ever be able to pay our rent for our apartment.  I remember for the first time being tempted not to pay our tithing because we didn't know when or where the money for rent would come from.  Yet, I had always been taught to pay tithing first and then let the Lord do his work.  That is exactly what we did.  Then the miracle unfolded....as I handed over the tithing envelope to the branch president a thought came into my mind.  "Remember the girl you met 3 months previously on the boat ride over to the Coast Guard base?"  you wrote down her phone number on a piece of paper in your purse.  Call her, she told you about her cheap apartment."  I quickly looked for her name and number but then remembered she was moving that week, certainly her apartment would not be available this many months later.  I called and asked for her (the landlady said she moved several months earlier) I asked if by any chance her apartment was available.  She said "Oh yes, I just hadn't decided if I was going to rent it out or not, why don't you come over right now and I will show it to you.  We went over right after church and she was delighted to rent it to us,  she didn't want a deposit and  told us not to bother putting in a phone, just come upstairs anytime you like and use hers. The rent was 1/4 the price of rent in New York city in the 70's and we could actually pay for it from John's meager military salary. 

                 Trust the Lord today and watch the miracles unfold in your life.