Chapter Five
Come Up For Air
“Praying always that they faint not; and inasmuch as they do this,
I will be with them even unto the end.” (D&C 75:11)
When an animal holds
its breath underwater it absolutely needs to come to the surface to get air to
breathe. It may want to keep on fishing underwater or whatever, but after a
certain amount of underwater activity it needs to get oxygen, and the only way
to do it is to come to the surface, or it will die. For us, to “come up for
air” means that rather than keep on doing something, it may be better to have a
break, go for a walk, or whatever, and then come back to it later. 'Come up for air' also does not literally
mean "come to the surface" or "become visible". A dead fish
may come to the surface, but it’s not coming up for air, it’s just dead!
With all our efforts to
take control of our lives, unclutter it, and not go it alone, we still need to
remember not to become weary in well doing.
The condition of our health affects every part of our life. We can be restricted in our work, our social
activities and our service to the Lord when we do not feel well. In D&C
75:11 we read “Praying always that they
faint not; and inasmuch as they do this, I will be with them even unto the
end.” The Lord promises that if
we keep these commandments we “shall run
and not be weary, and shall walk
and not faint” (D&C 89:20) I have personally known in my own life the
realization of the promise I know that in times of fear or fatigue, “they that wait upon the Lord shall renew
their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and
not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isa.
40:31).
A few years ago, our
family decided to accept a plate full of challenges all at one time. So much
had happened over a few days that I had reached a point where I realized I
needed to stop and “come up for air” but I didn’t know how that would be
possible. One of our daughters was
pregnant with her first child. She began
having contractions at 32 weeks and went to the doctor who in turn immediately
put her in the hospital. After
monitoring her contractions they gave her medicine to stop her from going into
labor. They gave her procardia, then they tried a magnesium sulfate drip and
still the contractions continued. Another medicine was tried and the
contractions seemed to slow but during all this, her blood pressure had become
dangerously high. With the medicine
however, they felt they had her stable enough to send her home with precautions
as to what to monitor and watch for.
Well, it was a short lived retreat as after a day they put her back into
the hospital and ran some test to find that she had pre-eclampsia, meaning high
blood pressure while being pregnant.
After attempts to once again lower her blood pressure and keep the
contractions down, they were going to have to deliver the baby. During her visit they had given her steroid
shots to help the baby’s lungs develop faster so they had prepared for this
moment the best they could. As the
contractions increased, stress was put upon the baby so they had to do an
emergency c-section. All went well until
my daughter’s blood pressure dropped dangerously low. Her husband had just witnessed the stress on
their baby and now he was seeing his wife’s blood pressure drop way too
low. Well jumping ahead on this story,
the baby was born at 3.4oz and mom was being watched very closely as her high
blood pressure rose now seriously high.
Fortunately, with time came improvement and they are both doing
remarkably well. We recognized the marvelous blessing that has been pronounced
upon our family.
Now one would think
that was enough of a challenge for one time, but there is more. During this time, my husband became very
ill. We thought he was having a stroke,
but turns out that he was having a reaction to some medicine he was on. We went back and forth to the emergency room
before we found the cause of his sickness.
This was not all. Throughout this, most of us became sick with a stomach
virus. Our son and his wife and their
son were living with us temporarily before they began their journey off to
medical school, my son still at home, my other daughter and her two daughters
all became sick. I think I had it the
worse of all. I was sick as could be
barely able to help my husband and I couldn’t be with my daughter when the time
came for them to have their baby. It was
a very difficult time.
While kneeling by my
bed one evening, I broke into tears proclaiming to my Father in Heaven that I
couldn’t do it any more. As soon as I
expressed those words I heard, “Yes you can!”
He didn’t give me any great ideas or solutions or excuses but simply
reminded me that I could do it. What a great vote of confidence. As the day went on I was reminded of the
promises that had been given to my husband and our family as he received a
priesthood blessing. I was able to turn
my pain and suffering over to the Lord.
I had allowed myself to become weary in well doing. As I began to put
the Atonement to work in my life, the burden was lifted and I was instantly
comforted.
Since that time, I have
faced even greater trials and tribulation that would make those I shared above
seem like nothing. As I look back at
transitioning points in my life I can bookmark them with great sorrow and
pain. But I came through them and today,
they seem almost minor compared to the trials that have come since then,
however, they were not minor. I am
stronger now but each heartache and suffering helped to strengthen me and my
testimony. I can truly testify that this
life is a TEST!!
In September of 1832, the Prophet was preparing to move to
the John Johnson home southeast of Kirtland, Ohio; other brethren were
preparing to leave for Missouri. In the midst of these preparations, Joseph
Smith received the revelation that we now know as section 64 of the Doctrine
and Covenants. After instructing the men going to
These
verses are a guide for us as we prepare ourselves and our families to live in
“perilous times” (see 2 Tim. 3:1). We must not become weary in doing
good, and we must not become impatient; the changes we seek will come about “in
their time.” Most important, the great work we wish to do will proceed from
“small things.”
I use to
think that studying the scriptures and through general life’s lessons that we
would be taught line up line and precept upon precept. While that is true, I have learned even more
that when faced with choices and trials line upon line will the Lord help us
see what we must do and will guide us safely to where we need to be. We may not be ready for the whole answer to
the problems and we must learn to wait upon the Lord to reveal to us what need
to know as He knows we are ready to receive His council and direction.
Neal
A Maxwell said: “Therefore, how can you
and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, Lord, give me
experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal,
and certainly not to be forsaken. Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences
which made Thee what Thou art! Then let me come and dwell with Thee and fully
share Thy joy!”( Neal A. Maxwell, “Lest Ye Be Wearied and
Faint in Your Minds,” Ensign,May 1991, 88)
In a special
promise that was given in a revelation as contained in the 89th section of the
Doctrine and Covenants, we receive these words: “And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in
obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow
to their bones; And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even
hidden treasures; And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.”
Though we may feel weary and sometimes may not be able to see the way, we must remember that our Father in
Heaven will never forsake His righteous followers. He will not
leave us comfortless. I know the feeling
of wanting that immediate release from the pain we feel, but it is through that
pain that we reach out for His help. It
is through that pain that we begin to know a tiny portion of the suffering our
Savior went through. It is through that
pain that we yearn and hunger to know the Lord’s will for us so that we can
make it through those times when death seems to easier than the course we are
experiencing.
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