Healing

If you've met me for at least 10 seconds, then you probably know that I adore people with special needs. ADORE them. They are my favorite. They are also God's favorite. So be nice to these folks or Judgment Day is not going to be pretty for you. That's my philosophy and I'm sticking to it. 

So anyway, one of my favorite people with special needs once told me that he couldn't wait until Jesus comes again.

When he told me that I instantly thought, Well, sure. YOU are guaranteed to get in. The rest of us have to actually become better individuals and all that jazz. Grow. Progress. Become more like the Savior. You know. We have to take that route.

But instead of expressing all of my insecurities about not having a free pass to heaven, I simply asked my good friend, "What are you most excited about when Jesus comes again?"

He responded: "There will be no more bad. No more sin, no more wickedness, no more sorrow, no more pain. Only good. Only light."

Again, if you've known me for at least 10 seconds, then you know that by the time he got through that sentence, my mascara was on my chin.

This very sweet conversation took place a few years ago, but I've reflected on it almost daily ever since.

And here's why:

We all have some sort of special need. We all struggle. We all feel pain. We all go through life's up and downs with aching hearts and heavy loads to carry.

We ALL do.

And I don't mean to be a downer about it or anything, but life is kind of hard.

So when my sweet, dear friend expressed his eagerness to meet the Savior it melted my heart for a zillion reasons. But the biggest one was because this sweet man knows suffering in a very literal and very constant way. He has been ridiculed, left out, forgotten, and unable to experience many joys most of us take for granted. His brain and body do not function the way brains and bodies are meant to typically function.

But instead of being jaded about it, he's just patiently excited for all of his suffering to one day be made right. And he has the faith that it will be.

In his "broken" state, he can't wait to finally be made whole.

And maybe this doesn't fit in your belief system, but I five-million percent believe that one day, we will all be healed from our various aches and pains in a very literal, physical way.

However there is one thing my friend didn't mention, in his anxiousness to be made more perfect.  I've come to realize something that I have to keep in mind every single day, and it's this:

We don't have to wait until the Savior comes again to feel healing.

He wants us to feel healing NOW.

Now, not all remedies will be immediate. Not every burden will be relieved. In fact, most probably won't.

I know people with diabetes. With cancer. With other painful and life-threatening illnesses.

I know people with disabilities. People who can't talk. Or walk. Or function much at all.

I know people with anxiety. Depression. Addictions. People who have been abandoned. Abused. Neglected. Divorced. Betrayed. Etc. Etc. ETC.  

Bottom line: Life is HARD.

And all of those things are not going to suddenly change. All those people will still have all of those things, some for the rest of their lives.

But it is through those things that we can find healing along the way from the person who makes us truly complete.

And if you don't know Him all that well, I suggest you get to know Him starting right now.

Often, He offers tender mercies and healing to us through the people in our lives. Sometimes even through weenie dogs. 

I'm just saying. 

But one day, though probably not anytime really soon, there will be no more bad. No more wickedness. No more sorrow. No more pain.

Only good. Only light.

And it's completely because of Him.

As we look forward to that day, hopefully we can alleviate each other's pain and find joy in the journey of becoming even as He is.

And hopefully on that great day, my celestial friends will sneak me in the back door.

Because I'm going to need all the help I can get.


Okay. Just one last thought.

As a young girl, I once heard a Mormon missionary enthusiastically explain: "I love trials!"

When she said that, I thought she was out of her mind insane.

But the older I've gotten and the more I've understood the necessity of trials, I want to reiterate her profound feelings that she shared that day.

I love trials, too. Because they help us turn to God. And ironically enough, it is through our hardest times that we can find the most healing of all.

And by healing, I don't mean the elimination of hard things. I mean the ability to grow in spite of them. 

And THAT is exactly why I have such profound love and respect for people with disabilities. Because even though their bodies might seem "broken," they have the biggest hearts and souls of anyone I know.

And they are way more capable than the rest of us give them credit for.

And for the record, from what I know and understand about God, He thinks we are all more capable than we can even imagine. Even those of us that don't get a free pass. :)