Rising Together in Troubled Times

Everyone has down times. And reaching out to each other—rising together—can change lives.

I love the song “If I Lose My Way.”

If I lose my way, will you come find me?
If I forget who I am, will you remind me?
It’s a long, long roadAnd I’m not going to make it on my own.

None of us will or can make it on our own. We need others joining us and rising together.

Longing to Help

Lately many  people in my life have been going through tough times, including health issues, financial struggles, relationship and family problems, and even unexpected loss of loved ones. My heart breaks for each one of them as they struggle over major obstacles; some even seem to be losing their way.

When I have talked with  friends and family who are deeply down, I have found many who feel they are the only ones with this challenge, that they are in depths no one else will understand. They do not recognize how many people are or have been down there and can (or even need to) be rising together with them.

Keeping Company

We are counseled, “Pure religion and undefiled before God . . . [includes]  to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction” (James 1:27). My parents taught me this in childhood, as we often visited my widowed grandmother, who lived alone. Though very capable, she had down times of loneliness.

I found sitting and talking rather boring. Years later I understood how precious these continued visits were to my grandmother. For those spending time down alone, visits provide opportunities for rising together with loved ones in the joy of  love and appreciation. My grandmother knew she was not alone. As King Benjamin taught his people and unnumbered others—including us—serving God’s other children is serving God (Mosiah 2:17).

Rising Together

Elder Ulisses Soares wrote of those who are sensitive to the needs and feelings of others, “feelings of genuine interest and love will permeate our every action . . . The Lord will recognize our efforts, and we will surely be blessed with opportunities to be instruments in His hands.”

I recall a down time of my own, and an individual who understood my need and extended a hand to help me rise. In college, I lived off campus, and my roommates and I did not go to the same school. As we were in a “family ward,” I didn’t seem to belong. I was missing church meetings more and more often, feeling further and further away from the strength of having a strong church family.

One of my work friends noticed that I was down and in need of a helping hand up. She simply invited me to go to church with her—non-threatening and exactly what I needed! I began going to church with her on campus, and it reignited my fire. I was no longer alone. And by the next fall I was in the mission field.

Lighting a Hill

 One way to start rising together is by telling personal stories—our own and others’. The Lord told  the multitude (and us as well) that we need to step out with our light like a city on a hill

Lighted cities can be a challenge. Some who post their life, opinions, or testimony online have been judged as narcissistic or braggadocious. As a social media influencer, I have been questioned about why our family members share our lives through social media. Just this week, someone asked why I was talking about God on social media when I could  make money with more “popular” content.

Recognizing risks, as a family we made the decision to use every opportunity to lift and encourage others and share our testimony of a loving Savior. We also look for opportunities to share our down moments where things haven’t worked out as we hoped. We use down-time opportunities to share how we cope with those challenges, inviting others join us in rising together.

Our down times of negative comments and accusations are outnumbered considerably by comments confirming the real reasons for our light on the hill. Countless numbers message us with questions of where to turn during life’s greatest challenges and how to deal with those small, everyday downs most of us experience.

We are also able to tell them that we love them and God loves them, as we share with them the power of Jesus Christ and all that He has done for us.

Our light on the hill has led many to return to church, start going for the first time, or read their Bible more. Some have even requested missionaries and joined our church. Our hands and our hearts are extended with the light, showing thousands of people that they are not alone.

I encourage you all to share the incredible things that you are doing, hoping, and giving in this world! Especially to share your testimony of prayer, love, and the role of Jesus in your life. God’s children need you to raise them from depths of loneliness, weakness, and discouragement.

Dale and Faye Belnap closed their song, with which I began:

If we lose our way, he will come find us.
If we forget who we are, he will remind us.
It’s a long, long road,
But we don’t have to make it on our own.

(Image: Aguirre/Unsplash)