Story submitted by Tera Dick. Share your story here.
Have you ever felt like you just can’t seem to get it together? You wake up in the morning motivated and ready to conquer the day, promising yourself to make good on the goals you been setting for yourself. You’re going to go for that run, or you’re going to get up early to read your scriptures, or you’re not going to yell at your kids even if they poke holes in your car seat or eat the whole brick of cheese on their quesadilla.
But then you walk into the kitchen and find an entire box of Cheerios and half a gallon of milk spilled on the ground and once again your good intentions fall to pieces. You just start to wonder if you’re worth the trouble. You just keep falling into the same patterns or just keep making the same mistakes and you wonder how many chances God is really truly going to give you.
I had an experience with my Kindergarten son just a couple months ago that made me think of this very thing. It was January. Now we don’t experience cold like the Midwest, but we still have our own kind of New Mexico winter. The temperatures get below freezing, and we usually get a couple snow storms a year.
Well, I had gotten the kids off to school and was just getting home from running a handful of errands that morning when I got a call from the school. I thought for sure one of my kids must be sick and needing me to come pick them up; the nasty winter flu was spreading like wildfire. The front office receptionist said to me, “Tera, are you ready for a laugh?” I was intrigued. Yes, yes I was. “Your child came to school today without any shoes.” I had to ask which one because honestly, it could have been one of a few of them. It was my 5 year old Kindergartener.
The receptionist felt bad because she intended to call me first thing in the morning, but got distracted and totally forgot. Now it was already past noon and we both figured he’s already gone this long, there’s no point in bringing them now. I felt a mix of mortification, what mother sends her child to school without shoes? I also felt a little impressed that I had gone 15 years of mothering and 6 kids so far without sending my child to school shoe-less until now.
I asked my son what was going through his mind when he got out of the car and didn’t have shoes on. Did he notice right away? Didn’t the ground feel chilly? Didn’t something feel a little off when he stepped onto the hard sidewalk? He replied, “Well, I had socks on”…..how silly of me to wonder such things.
Anyway, I realized I better send his teacher a note. She knows we have a big family and mornings can sometimes be a little chaotic, but I didn’t want her to worry that maybe he didn’t have shoes to wear. So, I sent her a quick email letter her know that he does in fact have shoes. She sent me back the sweetest note:
“He was so cute….’Mrs. Perlman I forgot my shoes and my coat….is that okay?’ He has my heart!!”
It got me thinking. Sometimes I’m like my little 5 year old. I just don’t have it all together. In fact, some days I can’t even seem to remember to “put my shoes on to go to school.” I need to get on my knees and say, “Heavenly Father, I forgot my shoes and my coat…..is that okay?” I messed up again. I tried to do better today, but I just fell short. Is that okay?
Just like that angel Kindergarten teacher probably hugged my little boy and told him it was okay, he was okay, our Savior is ready to hug us and tell us it’s okay, we’re okay because we have his heart. He will take us where we are. He will forgive us again, and again, and again. His mercy extends so much further than we realize. He already paid the price for the times we mess up, for the times we fall short, for the pains we cause, for our sins and our failures. What He asks of us is that we try again. That we just try again.
His love for us doesn’t change, but the great news is that with his help we can. Knowing that he loves us no matter what somehow encourages us in our shortcomings to keep trying. Together with his love and his power eventually we will be able to overcome, we will be able to do, we will be able to be more than we thought we could be. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said,
“The miracle of Christ’s charity both saves and changes us. His atoning love saves us from death and hell….[and]transforms the soul, lifting it…..to something far more noble, far more holy.”
That is the great gift of the Savior’s mercy, that he will take us where we are. Whether we have made great strides in becoming who we want to be or whether we may have even gone a few steps backwards. He will take us where we are each and every day, and if we let him he will help us to move forward on that path towards Him.
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hewbrews 4:16
1 thought on “We may not have it all together, but He takes us where we are.”
Thank you for sharing Tera. Helps me feel love in my weakness.