"In the gospel of Jesus Christ you have help from both sides of the veil, and you must never forget that. When disappointment and discouragement strike - and they will - you remember and never forget that if our eyes could be opened we would see horses and chariots of fire as far as the eye can see riding at reckless speed to come to our protection. They will always be there, these armies of heaven, in defense of Abraham's seed."
I shared this quote by Elder Holland with my Seminary classes
as part of our study of Elisha in 2 Kings 6.
15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
I love Elder Holland's talk, For Times of Trouble, given at BYU in 1980 and found here. He speaks of doubt -- especially self-doubt,-- and discouragement and despair as universal problems. These evils Satan uses cunningly to cause fear as we face our individual challenges.
I highly recommend listening to the audio on YouTube
Few tell stories like Elder Holland, and the promise at the end, following the quote above, gives hope and courage.
I have felt that heavenly help more than once as we have been delivered from impossible situations; when the worry and fear alone were crushing. I am grateful.
Heavenly help also comes as tender mercies, undoubtedly more often than we realize.
Not long after Mom died, Vicky and I left the younger kids with Grandma Rich, while we took the older ones to Lagoon. Upon our return we learned that one of the little ones had fallen backwards off the picnic bench and hit his head on the concrete, but he landed gently, as if he'd been caught.
She was convinced that our Mom had been there helping tend our kids.
I believe her.
Fast forward twenty-plus years and now I'm the grandma with three little ones to tend: Leslie - 4, Henry - 20 months, and Gehrig - 3 weeks. After a couple of hours I'm thinking that things are going better than expected and my mothering skills aren't as rusty as I'd imagined. Gehrig is sleeping longer than usual and the others are playing while I fix dinner. As I stand at the sink the feeling gently settles and I say out loud,
"I had help".
Yep.
There was no answer to my question, "Who was it?", but here's my best guess:
The smiling grandma in the middle (1984)
Maybe it was Dad. I could always tell he was there at settings apart for the girls and when Rikker was advanced in the priesthood and set apart as a missionary.
There are few advantages to widowhood, but knowing I could ask that Dad be allowed to go with the child headed far from home was one of them. Heavenly Father, in His infinite goodness, granted those requests. I never worried, knowing Dad was there in London, Australia, Thailand, the Remuda cul-de-sac and the Holy Land.
We now have so much family in heaven that I simply ask that someone be sent. As kids scatter across the globe it probably takes everyone anyway. I suspect from their perspective the veil is thin all the time. I'm grateful that sometimes I get "eyes to see" the armies of heaven that come to our aid.
The rest of the time, just knowing they are there is enough .
