One of my favorite songs that I have had the privilege of singing as a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is "You'll Never Walk Alone" from the musical 'Carousel'. The wonderful composers, Rogers and Hammerstein have a long list of these "favorites", but the song, "You'll Never Walk Alone is more than a nice song to sing - it holds personal memories near and dear to my heart.That song was one of my Grandmother's favorite songs. I never heard her sing it or play it on her violin, but I can vividly recall when it came on, she would pause from what she was doing to listen to it. The expression on her face as she listened, seemed to hold a place in her heart. I never asked her why because it didn't seem appropriate to ask. It was almost a sacred, happy experience for her.
The words speak of hope and perseverance. They also speak of looking at things with a positive attitude - maybe that's where I inherited my "LDS Happy" moniker and attitude from. The words read:
When you walk through a stormHold your head up highAnd don't be afraid of the darkAt the end of the stormThere's a golden skyAnd the sweet silver song of the larkWalk on, through the windWalk on, through the rainThough your dreams be tossed and blownWalk on, walk on, with hope in your heartAnd you'll never walk aloneYou'll never walk alone
A storm can be a frightful time, especially if it is very close by. I can remember (and actually still do) count from the time of the lightning flash until the rumble of thunder is heard to determine how close it was. I can remember the look of the sky as a storm approaches; sort of a grey, green, orange glow depending on the time of day. As we counted the distance, our excitement grew as the countdown got less and less until it finally arrived.The winds would howl, the rain would be at the mercy of the wind and sometimes come down horizontally. The storm would be unleashed and all we could do is to sit and watch it. And pray that it doesn't cause major damage. As a child, this was a worry-free time. A time for wonder of the elements. As an adult, is may have some of those childlike attributes, but also a sense of fear of possible damage. Thus the prayers.
And as quickly as it arrived, it dissipates. The lightning flashes decrease as well as the thunder. The rain may persist for a bit, but the immediate danger has passed. The earth seems to soak up the moisture. The grass seems a bit greener, the birds singing is a bit more pronounced. The sky clears up and the sun forces its way through the clouds in shades of yellow and gold and blue. And all is well once again.We all have storms pop up in our lives. These storms can be personally emotionally and spiritually frightening. Sometimes, we can see these storms approaching. Sometimes we can do something to divert the storm so it passes by you. This is what the majority of our prayers include; asking Heavenly Father to help us avoid the storms. But, once again, sometimes no matter how we prepare, no matter how much we prayed to have the storm pass us, it hits us.
When these storms come at us with their fury of trials and discouragements, along with the whipping winds of adversity it is important to seek for spiritual shelter. Falling back on our true shelter from adversity; that is upon the atonement of our Savior can help us look at our storms in a different perspective. Remember in the Garden of Gethsemane our Savior was pleading to His Father, our Father in Heaven, "...if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me..." Even our perfect Savior was experiencing an approaching storm. He wanted to have it pass Him and was asking His Father in Heaven if there was no other way. It is not recorded, but I would like to have known if our Savior heard His Father's voice gently telling Him, "No, my precious Son. It is part of the plan. There is no other way. But be a good cheer my Son, for these storms shall quickly pass by."
As we face our personal storms, know that we are not alone. We have Heavenly help waiting. And, just as storms come and go, and may even come back again, know that we can appreciate those storms for what they have taught us and, "...we may enjoy more fully the sunlight" or as I like think of it as "enjoy more fully the LIGHT of Christ, our Heavenly Father's SON".Continue reading at the original source →