The Story Behind the Poem

All my conscious efforts to trust my Heavenly Father helped me keep a tight grip on the iron rod, but they did nothing to relieve the turmoil going on within my heart and stomach.  It was time and another very special experience, that took this concept of really trusting in my Heavenly Father and placed it securely in my heart where it could help me finally let go of all my fears.

I was at this time in the midst of my most difficult struggles, worrying anxiously over what was going to happen to our family. One Sunday, a couple visited our ward to report from a mission they had just served in Hawaii.  The sister began by sharing her story:

As a young married couple, she and her husband had been prayerfully searching for a home near her family in Fremont, California. (My ears perked up when I heard the name of the city where I’d lived as a young girl.) With the help of the local Stake President, they found just the home they were looking for. She was filled with the joy of watching her dreams being fulfilled one by one: she had been sealed to a wonderful husband with a successful career, their first baby was on the way, and now their dream house was right around the corner.

A bit short of the down-payment, the sweet couple moving out had offered to carry part of the loan so that this sister and her young husband could buy the house. They were filled with gratitude. They knew this was an answer to their prayers. Life couldn’t have been more perfect.  She was soon happily settling in, with her dreams of “white, picket-fences for eternity” just within her grasp.

The day she moved in, she was putting things away when she came across the following poem that had been left on the back of the bathroom door:

God has not promised skies always blue,

Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;

God hath not promised sun without rain,

Joy without sorrow, Peace without pain.

But God hath promised strength for the day,

Rest for the labor, light for the way,

Grace for the trials, help from above,

Unfailing sympathy- Undying love.

She was touched by the poem itself—hearing again that although we shouldn’t plan on a charmed or easy life, we can trust that Heavenly Father will be there to give us strength, and guide us through. At the same time, I remembered fondly how my mother used to put up such notes of inspiration around the house. The sister continued her story,  “  . . .  under the poem was written in the most beautiful calligraphy, the verse:

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. (Proverbs 3:5,6)

Something tickled inside me as I thought of my own mother’s beautiful calligraphy and her love for this particular scripture.

She continued her story, sharing how she had loved the poem from that first moment and decided to let it stay there on the door to greet her each morning. Their life continued to be blessed and joyful with the birth of their baby girl and throughout the next year and a half as a second child joined their little family. Each morning, she read the poem and welcomed the new day with faith in the Lord and joy for His great blessings.

One year later, however, her beautiful life came crashing down around her. Her husband, whom she loved and admired, and whom many around looked to for leadership, was arrested, thrown in jail, fired from his job with no severance pay, and excommunicated. She was left alone to care for her children in the most dismal and tragic circumstances. Now as she met this poem and verse each morning, it carried whole new meaning. She clung with every ounce of faith she could muster to the promises contained in the beloved poem and verse.

Her faith in these words became the very thing that got her going each morning, gave her courage to face leaving her little girls to go to work each day, and the strength to face the unkind reactions of thoughtless neighbors when she came home. She felt the strength of these promises as she experienced the Lord carrying her little family through the seven-year prison sentence as she waited alone, for her husband to return. She continued to greet this poem and verse each morning after his release and was blessed with additional strength and comfort when he chose to walk out on his little family three years later. She watched as the Lord continued to stay by her side throughout the divorce, fulfilling each promise of strength, light, grace, sympathy and love.

Eventually she met a good man and remarried with new hopes for joy leading her forward. She continued to keep the poem (which was now quite tattered) close to her heart, still pulling courage from its verses as her new husband raised the desire to move the family to Utah. The poem and verse continued to give her hope and strength when her children hit their stormy teenage years.

Each morning, year after year, this poem and verse was that reminder for her to always put her trust in the Lord. Through each trial, her trust in the Lord was always rewarded with blessings, miracles, strength and comfort. She testified that Heavenly Father had indeed been there by her side through every trial, teaching her and giving her guidance, courage, love and­ yes—even joy.

My heart was on fire as she wrapped up her talk with her testimony that "it didn't matter what we'd have to face in life, the Lord will be our guide and our protector. He will help us along. Joy will be ours as we learn to trust in him."

Her story was finished, but my mind raced with questions. What year did she say she moved into that house? When did we leave our home in Fremont? All through the rest of the meeting my mind churned, anxious to find the answers to all my questions. As soon as the closing prayer was said, I made my way up to meet her. I thanked her for her inspiring talk and then asked, "What year was it that you moved to Fremont?" My heart began to pound as her answer confirmed the year we had left Fremont when I was a young girl.

I continued with the next question, "What was the street you moved to?" Her answer sent my mind spinning dizzily into the past, as she confirmed the name of the Street where I had learned to skip.

"Do you remember the house number?" I asked finally. Her reply was short and simple but it hit me like a tsunami burying me with a flood of childhood memories wrapped in the perfect and powerful love of my Heavenly Father. My emotion spilled over in waves of tears that I thought would surely flood the chapel.

After finally gaining some control, I was able to squeak through my tears, "That was our house! That was my mom that left that poem and scripture on the door." We hugged and cried together as she told me more of my parents and how they had been so kind. She had been so grateful for the love and faith that had been left with that poem. She gave me a hand written copy of the poem that I took home and attached to the mirror in my own bathroom.

The poem had come full circle and would now remind me each morning that—yes—I might have to go through yucky stuff, but it really would be okay. Heavenly Father really would be there to help me through each and every difficulty I might face.

As I pondered this experience again and again, I became even more in awe of the marvelous teaching methods of my Heavenly Father. My mother could have handed me that poem years ago, and it would have been just another poem that may have inspired me for a day or maybe a month. Instead, a very wise Heavenly Father gave my mother these inspired words and then had them passed on to inspire another who would need them for her life. He knew that years later, she would be able to return these words, together with her testimony, to me—two states away—in a manner that I could never forget.

By teaching me with this entire experience, He knew that I would finally be able to rest all doubt that no matter what happens to me or my children, Heavenly Father really does have a tender-loving, all-knowing hand in our lives. This experience gave me the confidence I needed to trust that every detail—past, present, and future—of our lives is carefully designed by a loving Father. He is in perfect control. I needn't fear anything I would have to face.

Herein lay the source of my truest joy: Even in the midst of the world's most difficult trials, I could be happy—freed from all my worries—because the Lord is fighting my battles. He is defending me and protecting me with His shield. I knew that He would always be there to help me through anything I would be called to go through. I also knew that as my children grew and were faced with trials of their own, He would do the same for them, teaching and guiding them through their experiences of joy and pain. I could, and I would, trust in the Lord with all my heart.