What sparked this serious train of thoughts was watching a trailer for a documentary my friend Leslie posted on her Facebook page called Stuck. The documentary is about international adoption, and how there are countless children who are stuck in orphanages despite already having been adopted. The average time it takes for children to actually be placed with their adoptive parents is just under three years. During those three years, the children's basic needs are barely being met, all while they have families back in the US hoping and praying they will come home.
Sad, right? It made me very sad. It made me want to adopt a bunch of cute little Haitian children. I don't particularly like being sad, but I sort of got on a roll with it. There are so many sad, sad things that happen in our world. Wars, starvation, abuse, bullying, violence, lying, cheating, stealing, etc. There is real pain out there. And heartache. There is a lot of wrongness.
Then I thought about the known history of our world. There has been a lot of wrongness going on for a very long time.
Then I thought about the Savior. I thought about His promises to us, and how because of his suffering and Atonement, somehow, all the wrongness out there will be ultimately be made right; wrongs that seem impossible to right. Somehow, someday, all of us, His children, will feel justified and at peace with what is happening, or what happened, in our lives.
It takes a lot of faith to believe that! That is an incredible belief, that someone could right all wrongs. That eventually there will be peace on Earth and in all of our hearts. When I think about how awful things seem to be for some people, I don't have a clue how healing like that could take place. But, I'm grateful for my faith, despite my lack of understanding the mechanics of how or the specifics of when.
Then the thought came to me: The Savior can fix the world. He can fix it despite its being so unbelievably horrible at times. And He can fix it wholly and completely. If He can fix this sometimes wretched place,
He can fix me.
He can fix me! And not only me, he can fix the people I love, he can fix strangers, and he can fix even the people I'm not particularly fond of. He can and will fix anyone and everyone who will let him, and even those that aren't currently wanting to be fixed: He's just ready and waiting for the right time.
Why would I want to push anyone down, even people who aren't very nice or cool or fun, or even my own silly self, when Christ is so desperately hoping for people to reach up to him so he can lift them up? I guess, this long, serious blog post, is ultimately me reminding myself to be patient with myself and all my flaws. Be patient with my loved ones. Be patient with strangers. Be patient with my "enemies." Because, we are all fixable. We all need help being fixed. And, we are all, every one of us, worth it.
That's all.
Wonderful post, Jenn. It's a great reminder. I often try to remind myself that we're all in this together. We're all children of God, just trying to do the best we can. I love the quote, "Be kind. For everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." It's so true, and it makes it a little easier to be understanding of others.
ReplyDeleteI didn't watch that documentary trailer because I knew it would make me cry. Sometimes (oftentimes) I get overwhelmed thinking about all the sadness in this world. Especially the fact that children have to suffer. It's just really hard to accept and understand. But I liked your perspective on it. Thanks for sharing.
Great post, Jenn. I think a lot of people start that train of thought and end up turning away from Christ. It really is a miracle that knowing that we have a savior makes us want to be better and makes the world a better place. In a world that wants everyone to be content with "how you are" it's refreshing to get an optimistic viewpoint on change.
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