Faith, Friendship, and Enduring to the End

"Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us."

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Yesterday I came home from a play date at a friends house. We were having a conversation about past relationships (friendships). I had previously made the comment to one of the girls that I "test" friendships. I don't think of ways to do it I just always seem to find myself in a situation where I have either said or done something hurtful (most times not intentional). The ladies made the comment that those situations don't always have to happen. I dismissed this. At that moment I dismissed it because I felt like I didn't know why it happened but it does and I don't know it's done until it is too late.
The conclusion in my head is that I am not a great friend. I came home, dwelling on this thought.
I had a little bit of time before I had to start supper so I opened my January 2010 Ensign. I was flipping through it and read, "The Best is yet to be". Another New Year's article....

So I get to this article and I read the title and I am about to flip, when I notice the picture of Lot and his family leaving Jerusalem, intrigued I stayed. I am glad I did. It is one of the BEST articles I've read in the Ensign. I hope you find the time to read it.

Now because I was dwelling on this thought that I was a terrible friend and that one could even go so far as to say I am a terrible person (that was a wee bit on the dramatic side but you know what I'm getting at..) the focus of the article the first time I read it was directed at that train of thought.

I am not going to go through the entire article because you should read it yourself  BUT I just kept thinking...

I am looking back, not forward.

I didn't "remember Lot's wife" Luke 17:32

There is a part in this article where Elder Holland talks about "forgive and forget". Mistakes we make in the past consume our thoughts. He says, "It stands in terrible opposition to the grandeur and majesty of the Atonement of Christ."

I forgot that I am not the same person I was 10, 5, 2 or 1 years ago. I am not the same person I was yesterday. And reflecting on those same circumstances I wasn't a terrible friend. I believe that most of us do the best we can with what we know. I have been in lots of situations where I've put my foot in mouth, said something out of good intent to have it back fire, or done the "right" thing to have a friendship's trust tested. I think that happens in any one's relationships. Some of the best relationships I have are with people that have stood through the "test of time" and with time comes trials, it's an inevitable fact of life (like taxes and death).  "The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim them embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best we have experienced, then we look ahead and remember that faith is always pointed toward the future."

I guess for me the moral of this entire (long) story is that I will "remember Lot's wife" and I have faith. I have faith in myself and the relationships I have with people. I have faith in a Father in Heaven who understands me.