Monday, February 29, 2016

God Doesn't Do Random (Including Lots of Random Thoughts and Stories)

  
 Sister Pope and I are waiting for a call from President Taylor (Who is back in business now, woohoo!) or the assistants to the president to call us about transfers which are taking place on Wednesday... Let's just say Sister Pope is super anxious (since she is expecting a call) and jumps whenever our iPads or other alarms go off thinking that it is the phone. I did prank Sister Pope though. She was changing her laundry and I said out loud, "Hello! This is Sister Frisch and Sister Pope." She immediately dropped her laundry and hurried into the room I was in. She mouthed, "Put it on speaker phone." I then showed her the blank screen on the phone and she about tackled me. Haha. 
We had a crazy bashing story which will not be shared, but we somehow ended up with three of the lady's refrigerator boxes to recycle. (Well, we are nice and she is blind so when she asked us to dispose of the boxes we did.)  We folded them up as much as possible and shoved them into our recycling bin. Sister Pope then tried to jump on top of them in the recycling bin which led to much needed comic relief for both of us from the highly stressful situation. It was a tender mercy.
This was a group of scriptures that really resonated with me this week-Ether Chapter 6, verses 7-12. This is the account of a people who crossed great waters in barges. Please read.
7 And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters.
8 And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind.
9 And they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord.
10 And thus they were driven forth; and no monster of the sea could break them, neither whale that could mar them; and they did have light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water.
11 And thus they were driven forth, three hundred and forty and four days upon the water.
12 And they did land upon the shore of the promised land. And when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them.
There are lots of things I like about this story. First off, the people were continually praying to their Heavenly Father, and because they were, they received light in their barges through the whole journey. What a HUGE tender mercy from the Lord that would be. Imagine a giant wooden thing that looks like an almond from the outside but is hollow inside. This is what these people sailed in. All of their supplies and animals were in the barges with them, and they were in them for 344 days. Imagine the stench, the feces, and without a way of light, but the Lord provided a way as they exercised their faith. It didn't matter when they were floating on calm waves or immersed in tumultuous water, they prayed to their Heavenly Father. And they were blessed.

A little over two weeks ago was when we took our crazy trip to Birkenfeld, OR and lost the bumper to our car. On that trip, Sister Pope lost her missionary name tag somewhere in the middle of the boondocks. Sister Pope and I knew there was no way possible she would be able to retrieve her name tag, but even the small things, Heavenly Father cares about. This Friday, during service, a lady came up to me and said, "Sister Frisch, I found a name tag that looks exactly like yours but it says 'Sister Pope'. Do you know a Sister Pope?" And I told her, “yes” and we were able to help her at the food bank. This lady-Stacy- was walking her dog all the way out in a town near Birkenfeld and found the tag. It was in her car and was returned to Sister Pope. Never in a million years would we have thought Sister Pope was going to see that name tag again. Also, the chances of Stacy coming to the food bank, on just the right day at the right time, is just crazy! It's one of those "God doesn't do random" moments. I'm thinking there was a reason Stacy found the name tag and later we met her. I have a feeling we are going to see her again. It was a huge tender mercy! 
Heavenly Father loves me. I know that. He also loves all of you. I know that too!

Love, Sister Frisch


No comments:

Post a Comment