Like in Ether, sometimes we feel we are crossing great storms buried in the sea in darkness, but the light we do have, even if it may seem as small as a stone, will be what you need to make it through. And it’s just not making it through this lifetime, because it’s not ever about just making it to the end and hope for a better go at it in the next round; the hereafter. Because like in Ether, life didn’t end for them when they reached land. It wasn’t the end to the story or to them. They continued living and they enjoyed new seasons with blessings and posterity. So no, it’s not just about trying to get by until we die, it’s about holding on to the light we do have knowing a new season will come in this life, one filled with blessings and posterity.
The woman who had a blood disease struggled most of her life. She used every resource and penny she had to finding relief and progress and healing, but it just never happened. I know she felt loss of hope, loss of strength, loss of faith, and probably thought often how maybe she’s the exception to life getting better here. We don’t know who she is, she’s not named in the scriptures, but how much we can relate to her. To those times, those unanswered prayers, unfulfilled fasts, passing time, unwanted and uncharted paths. Times where it seems things gotten worst from doing what we think is right. Times where it seems we’re out of sight or lost from God. A stranger. Alone. Unnamed or unimportant. Who am I? What if I’m the exception? What if I haven’t earned His love yet? Or what if I weakened it?’ we ask.
So how can an all knowing, all powerful God also be personal? Because our God is a ‘one by one’ God. Because like Christ, who was walking in streets that were so busy, it was like sardines, shoulder to should foot traffic, and Christ stopped and asked, who touched me? His disciples were probably confused by such an odd question, because everyone is touching them. But like God, our Savior is a one-by-one Savior. One who notices us on the ground buried under the crowed.
Like the woman at the well, our one by one God travels the long way on purpose and comes to us. Like the woman on the street grabbing his clothes in the shoulder to shoulder crowd, our one by one Savior notices us and stops for us and heals us. And although they are unnamed in the scriptures, He knows them. And although we may feel alone or forgotten, He knows us.
xoxAL
Related: When You Feel Alone