Various - In His Hands: Insights from Women

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
In his hands.
pages cm
Writings by Mormon women on various aspects of their relationship with Christ.
ISBN 978-1-62972-123-1 (hardbound : alk. paper)
1. Jesus ChristMeditations. 2. Christian lifeMormon authors. 3. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsDoctrines. 4. Mormon ChurchDoctrines.
BX8643.J4I5 2015
248.489332dc23 2015

Printed in China
RR Donnelley, Shenzhen, China
1098765432 1

G.I. Jane

By
Jane Clayson Johnson

When I was anchoring The Early Show on CBS, our producers decided we should replicate the adventures of some of our guests who had been participants on a reality show. In one episode, the guest had faced the challenge of being put through an obstacle course that was set up by an army special forces officer. Well, the producers thought it would be great if I went through an obstacle course too, a mini boot camp of sorts.

To warm me to the idea, they affectionately started referring to me as G.I. Jane and sent me off to West Point for a little boot camp of my own. So there I was, a fairly out-of-shape, not terribly athletic woman, at this very prestigious military academy where real soldiers go to train for battle. I showed up, and I was immediately outfitted in army fatigues and boots and assigned a real, honest-to-goodness drill sergeant.

With cameras rolling, the first thing that Sergeant Wright said to me was this: Jane, were going to ask you to do things here that you otherwise thought you couldnt do. Thats what this is all about. And I will be here to help you.

So Sergeant Wright started me out easy, or so he thought. Pull-ups were first (I could barely finish one); push-ups were next (I could do about three); and then we had sit-ups, and on and on, and then the obstacle course came. Climbing up a rope ladder. Stepping across wet, moss-covered logs. Crawling on my belly in the mud under a blanket of barbed wire about a foot off the ground. And as I wended my way through this course, I realized it was getting harder and harder and more exhausting and really very challenging. But every time I would get frustrated or tired or scared or just plain stuck, Sergeant Wright was right there. He talked me through it. He was anxious to help me and to encourage me and to give me instruction, and, as he reminded me many times, he had helped many a scared soul through this daunting adventure.

The last section of this obstacle course was referred to as walking the plank. Picture a board about twenty feet long, about ten inches across, about three stories up. Three stories up! I had to walk the plankthat was my last test. That plank was my bridge to the other side, and it didnt seem to matter much to me that there was a net underneath. I wasnt really thinking about that so much as I climbed up that huge ladder to the top. There I was, with my feet positioned to walk the plank, and the thought of completing this task was completely overwhelming to me. I cannot do this, I thought. I dont WANT to do this, I thought. Why do I HAVE to do this? My head was spinning. I was absolutely stuck. I could not move; I literally was frozen. All I wanted to do was run.

As I stood there, completely frozen in my fear and confusion, I heard one voice that seemed to ring out. It was Sergeant Wright. His strong, calm, comforting voice penetrated my mind, and this is what he said, Jane! Stop and listen. I am here. Stop and listen. I am here. I couldnt see his face, but I could hear his voice loud and clear. And I trusted him. Slowly, methodically, kindly, he talked me across that plank until I was safely to the other side.

I think of that story often as a metaphor for our lives. I think of a loving Heavenly Father saying, Im going to ask you to do things that you otherwise thought you couldnt do. Thats what this is all about. But I will be here to help you.

It is a complicated and exhausting and scary world out there, with a lot of loud, penetrating voices competing for our attention. Its so easy to get distracted and to get diverted from the One Voice that is really most important for us to follow. I need to remind myself often to stop and listen.

Unfulfilled
Expectations

By
Camille Fronk Olson

For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole (Job 5:18). I find that pattern very often in scripture, of times when the Lord somehow breaks something down and then builds it back up. I think one of the symbolic ways that is shown is in the idea of barrenness in the scriptures. You cant read the Old Testament very far without noticing that just about every woman you encounter has a challenge with being barren: Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel. I find myself saying, What is this? Even in the very beginning of the New Testament saga, you see Elisabeth, who is barren. And then, often when it is least expected, this incredible blessing of bearing a child is given.

Id like to say barrenness is symbolic of all those unfulfilled expectations, promises of the Lord, times when He puts us in those difficult circumstances that allow us to put greater trust and faith in Him. Maybe that challenge is having no children. Maybe its no marriageor no marriage for a long, long, long time. Maybe its not having good health. Maybe its not having opportunities to learn. I remember reading in President Gordon B. Hinckleys biography where, as a young man, dreaming of advanced education and never having an opportunity to get advanced degrees, he said, I seriously wondered what was going to happen to my life, simply working for the Church.

We have a pretty myopic idea about what may be happening in our lives. God has the full picture, and He seems to put us through the test to see, Will we stay true to Him? And the joy is all the greater when He gives that test and we endure it successfully.

A Sure Foundation

By
Ardeth Kapp

Some time ago I was in Phoenix, Arizona, at my nieces home, helping with her three little boys while a new one arrived on this planet earth. Trying to keep them happily occupied while their mom was in the hospital, I was sitting with them at the kitchen table one day painting rocks. We were painting bugs and bees and butterflies and whatever else came to mind when we heard footsteps approaching the front door. The boys knew it was their mom and dad with their baby brother. They rushed to the door, and their parents came in, and the boys took turns holding this little brother in their arms. It looked to me as if they almost knew each other. Maybe they remembered somehow.