"Ness! Mom! I have to tell you something crazy that happened today." The first words I heard as my 19 year old brother walked through the garage pantry door as he always does when he comes home from school. I immediately asked him if he was in some kind of danger today or if he was hurt or something, (anything could happen on a daily commute to Provo). Instead of me explaining the story and not giving it justice, I'll copy and paste his experience (With his permission) that he wrote down in his notes as soon as he got to the library at BYU. Read away, guys! :) You won't regret it.
"This morning at about 8:25A.M., I got on the UTA 830 bus route headed to BYU. I made my way to the back where I usually sit, and saw my two returned-missionary buddies entering the bus. Little did I know what would happen next. Not long after, a middle-aged man enters, holding a cigarette, and politely asks the bus driver if this route goes on University Avenue in Provo. The bus driver said yes, and so the man gets on and takes a seat in the front. I notice him talking to people around him, but I wasn't sure what he was saying. I wasn't trying to find out, yet I heard his voice get louder as he moved closer to us in the back. I was feeling somewhat unsure from what I could see. He looked to be flipping open and closed a knife with a long, sharp blade exposed. He got closer looking at each person in search of something that I couldn't figure out. Then he comes to us and says, "Do any of you have a piece of tape?" That was when I noticed that his cigarette was torn almost in half. After realizing he wasn't going to get what he thought three college students might be carrying, he took a seat. Without hesitation he looked into our eyes, and he asked each of us a personal question: "Have you ever done drugs?" We all say no, but he doesn't stop there. With complete humility and immense regret, he tells us to never ever start. "Don't even think about it," he says with sincerity. I could feel the concern in his tone. He said, "if you want my advice, DON'T DO IT!" He then tells us about his past in considerable detail. I could tell he was suffering just telling us about it. I didn't know where he was going with it but as soon as we got over the overpass on University Ave., he starts paraphrasing great doctrine that we as latter-day saints believe in. He knew the story of Alma when he's crying to the Lord and teaching his sons about the pain his sins caused him. I could tell he knew them very well and even talked about Doctrine and Covenants 19 where the atonement is mentioned in great detail. He said he knows Christ feels all our pain. He went on to say, 'Doing bad things seems easy at first, but once you get started you can't stop and the weight of the burden is too much to bare alone. It's all down hill and the backpack you are carrying full of guilt won't come off.' He used his brother (45 yrs old) as an example of someone living good and the great life he's living (blessings because of it) The whole time my friends and I are speechless. The last thing he says is, "I don't let anyone talk bad about Jesus Christ man, he is the only one who understands!" Right then and there my worries washed away because I couldn't think about myself anymore. I wanted to cure this man of his troubles. I know only Christ can do that. He gets off and says, God Bless you! I wanted to give him a hug so bad and tell him that the grace of God can save him! It was our stop to get off and we didn't know how to react. Doug (My buddy) says he couldn't believe what just happened. I could feel the spirit and God's love so strong! This was a message that God sent through this man who was dying spiritually. I got up to the 4th floor of the Harold B. Lee library and cried to my Heavenly Father in gratitude for that man. I prayed for a blessing upon him and his safety that day. He gave me so much in such a short amount of time that I wish I would've told him how I felt. He knew one part of the atonement very well, which is that Christ can succor his children. I know he knows he can be redeemed one day. I just pray that he is able to come back to Christ and feel his grace. In fact, Doug mentioned that that was one thing he was missing - grace (another big part of the atonement). His addictions felt to him like they were too much to overcome. He said he had been battling them for half his life. Oh yeah, and that thing in hand that I thought was a knife was a retractable flip COMB!! I about slapped myself in the face for being so judgmental. I learned so many amazing lessons over the course of that 7 minute bus ride. I'm so immensely grateful for this experience that taught me so much: Lesson to be learned from this:
Have a great rest of your Thursday! It's almost the weekend, be happy!! Ness
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I always find myself struggling on trying to find just the right things to write about for my Sunday posts. I don't know what it is, sometimes I just can't find the inspiration. But oh no, not today!
It all started in Sunday School. The words that stood out to me that were written on the chalkboard were, "Christ wins. Satan loses." 4 words that are so powerful and will always be true. Someone commented in class and shared a great quote by Jeffrey R. Holland. He said... “The FUTURE of this world has long been DECLARED; the final outcome between GOOD and evil is already KNOWN. There is absolutely no question as to who WINS because the VICTORY has already been posted on the SCOREBOARD. The only really strange thing is all of this is that we are still down here on the FIELD trying to decide which TEAM’S JERSEY we want to wear!” I just got thinking, "Wow!" like Satan will never, ever win. Sure, there have been times where people have been caught in his traps and snares for just a little bit, but they can come back. They just have to grab onto Christ's arm who is reaching out to rescue us. He loves us. And then Young Women's came along. Sister Bertele I love you girl! Your lesson was spot on. We watched a video that really brought the spirit. Here's the link... Click and check it out! https://youtu.be/fycvkAhYz1I After the video, each of us young women were handed a candle. Once the first candle was lit, we began to pass it on lighting each other's candles in the pitch dark room. These candles represented the Light of Christ. We all were born with the Light of Christ. It is an influence to do good. The natural man wouldn't be one to help an elderly person cross the street, or wrap their arms around a burdened down person, or smile and wave to a stranger, etc. Those are examples of the Light of Christ in us. Each of us felt the spirit in that room. Many of the girls had tears down their face. Not only did we see the light in our candles, we could see and feel the Light of Christ. It is real and it is there. There may have or will be times when we will be blinded by the darkness and we will for a moment fail to see the light. It happens, but that is a part of life. But guess what, there's hope guys! It's in Christ. Light will always penetrate the darkness. The darkness cannot succeed. I hope you guys are having a beautiful Sunday. Remember to be a light this week and pass it on. You could influence so many. <3 Ness |
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Ponderize Of The Week:
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed." - James 1:5-6 Quote Of The Week:
"Give it to God and go to sleep." - Unknown |