The Beauty of Storms

The Beauty of Storms

by Darrel L. Hammon
with inspiration from Mata Kāpeta

 


Storms come gently, sometimes viciously,
usually early morning, just about dawn.
They clamor over the mountains,

through the valleys, and on to the plains,
gathering ferocity, twisting trees until they snap,
causing grass and flowers to bend,

face down into the saturated ground.
The ferocity of spring storms is really no match
for the storms that doth beset us in real life—

Storms of divorce, depression, anxiety,
lost children, husbands or wives who stray,
disease and brittle bones, addictions,

and just plain sadness and withdrawal.
We often curl up by the window in large chairs,
grandma’s old throw wrapped around us for comfort,

stare into the wee mornings and watch the rains
and winds bash the windows outside
while our personal storms bash us from the inside,

wrecking more havoc than 50-mile per hour winds.
Yet, we know, though, that after the winds die down
and rains and their gray clouds dissipate over the ridge,

the sun emerges triumph. So, too, within us,

we also know—and plead fervently—
that the Son will appear as well, settle beside us

in any dark corner we find ourselves,
knowing His Light will dispel all darkness.
That is the beauty of storms,

knowing they retreat as suddenly
as they come when the Sun exerts its power
through Him who created all.

Being children of a living and loving Heavenly Father provides us with a richness of human capacity

We had a California Riverside Mission Reunion on Friday! It was a glorious event! We attempted to social distance as much as we could. These missionaries love each other after having spent two years or 18 months of their lives together. They had sacred experiences with their companions, their districts, their zones, and their mission that only these people would understand. It is during these moments, like mission reunions, where you can feel those same feelings and share them with people who really understand.

During the reunion, Joanne and I had the opportunity to address these phenomenal young people. In essence, we talked to them about remembering and staying on the covenant path. For my portion, I have organized my thoughts under the title: "Being children of a living and loving Heavenly Father

provides us with a richness of human capacity": 

 

Helaman 12:2

When we sin or do things that we know we shouldn’t or we become lax in what we should be doing, a sense of dimness/darkness creeps upon and we begin to forget. It is Satan lulling is into a sense of shifting our gaze and focus on Christ to focus on the ephemeral things of the world, which doth canker and corrupt instead of the things eternal (also see 2 Nephi 28:21-22).

 

Question: What must we do to “remember” and enhance our capacity to remember?

 

1. Remember who and whose we are. We are children of a loving Heavenly Father.
2. Remember that we are worthy of God’s love and forgiveness, no matter what we have done in our lives.
3. Remember why the Atonement is so integral in our lives and why we must repent every day, every day, every day. 
4. Remember we possess great capacity to achieve and to do grand things. Thus, we can see a far off in a holistic way!
5. Remember to educate the whole being—our minds, our body, and, especially, our hearts. 
6. Remember to treat ourselves kindly. Don’t beat yourself up over the things you cannot control.
7. Remember to be courageous and fearless in standing up for all that is good in the world. 
8. Remember to love others with our whole hearts and treat them as Heavenly Father and Christ would treat them.  
9. Remember to always show gratitude in all things.  
10. Remember to find joy in doing what the Lord wants and needs us to.  
11. Remember that everything we do has an effect on people, wherever they might be watching or listening or reading or observing. 
12.  Remember that our purpose and meaning stems from what we promise the Lord we would do when we were baptized, when we took upon us the Priesthood and its oath and covenant, when we did our initiatory, when we took out our endowments and made covenants with the Lord, and when—for some of you— knelt crossed the altar and whispered that sacred “yes.” 

As we remember and do, we are filled with great light, which “growth brighter and brighter until that perfect day….that you may chase darkness from among you” (see Doctrine and Covenants 50:24-25).

 

May we do everything in the Lord’s name with what Samuel the Lamanite called “Unwearied diligence” (see Helaman 15:6).