And Trusting in His Tender Care

"I've had many troubles in my life, most of which never happened." - Mark Twain

Through all the ups and downs and frustrations and worries (yes, I am a registered, certified worrier - just ask my wife), One thing I have learned is the power of trusting in the Lord. It is still a work in progress, I must admit, but the blessings are wonderful.

In High School seminary, thanks to my wonderful teacher, Keith Perkins,  I learned and memorized a scripture that has become my favorite:

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart,
  and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge Him,
  and He shall direct thy paths.
Be not wise in thine own eyes,
  fear the Lord; depart from evil."

Proverbs 3:5-7

Trusting is not an easy matter. Life's lessons often teach us that we must look out for ourselves. We get hardened by this "hard knocks" education (and resulting career path) and learn to not expect any help from anyone else, mortal or divine. I know the real answers to these life dilemmas - that we are not alone and indeed can rely on and need the help of the Lord - but nonetheless worry about so much, especially that which is out of my control.

Our experiences here in Germany have strengthened my ability to trust in the Lord. Even though I still fight the tendency to worry about so much everyday, it is amazing to see the hand of the Lord as I start to let go and let Him work in my life.

Yesterday was a good example. We had planned on making a trip to Freiburg with Elder and Sister Lee, leaving from their city of Singen, traveling on the "Black Forest" train. We discovered a few of these "hard knocks" along the way. The train we wanted (listed on the main schedule on the board at the train station) did not run on Fridays for a few weeks (of course, how could we have not known!). We ended up getting a train about an hour later than our originally planned departure. We had one transfer to another train and then a transfer to a bus, because something was not in order in the train line, and then another train before we arrived at Freiburg. We had a wonderful time visiting with each other and seeing the vistas of the Black Forest passing by. After wandering the city center and buying lunch and a few little items (and taking a few pictures), we took yet another train to find the university clinic campus. One of our members has been in a difficult situation with a rare infectious disease and is in one of the clinic facilities. The great blessing is that we found her and had a wonderful visit with her. As we entered, she was laying in bed reading her French Book of Mormon. She brightened up and had tears as we saw her. The many difficulties getting to see her were quickly forgotten. The Lees also had someone from their branch who needed a visit. We still had to wait nearly an hour in the cold for the return train, but we enjoyed visiting with each other again.

Besides this wonderful day, I have had other numerous times when I was worried about issues in the branch and in our activities and responsibilities, but over and over again, I received peace in my heart and found many of the problems of my "vain imagination" melt away.

Trusting in the Lord is the key.

(I will show the pictures in the next blog entry.)