Words of a Dear, Dear Friend

I just read a letter from a childhood friend who is serving a mission in Jakarta, Indonesia. Missions do much more than inspire those the missionaries teach. They touch friends and family and all are uplifted and edified together. Sister Rhondeau (isn't that an amazing last name?! I would never want to give that one up...) was on a nature walk/hike, and these were some of her observations.

"I turned a corner before anyone else had caught up with me to find myself facing sheer canyon sides on either side of me, cliff face mottled in verdant mosses reaching up into leggy palms and the tracings of a classic rain forest canopy above me. It was quiet, perfectly quiet but for the nature sounds there needed to be---sounds like distant water and insect songs and the swift hush of a bird taking flight. Butterflies danced in circled flurry about me, butterflies in lurid blacks and turquoise wing-tails, and if I didn't know any better I'd have thought the scene was simply some orchestration of Disney design. But this was God. All good things, all God. I felt small. Because what am I to all this?

And then, in the same second, everything. Tall strong invincible unreachable because what is this to all me? And not just me, of course, but all us? You and me. Children of God. Our literal Father in Heaven, a Father who knows and loves each and every one of us individually, above and beyond the flowers, the trees, and the butterflies He created for us. It is something I have always known. But yesterday, in that short space between turning that corner and then the others turning to join me, I knew it better than my knowing before. And I realized that I think that's maybe what I've always loved about the world, all creation. That it makes you feel small in so much grandeur only to remind you that the worth of souls is great in the sight of God."

Thank you, Sister Rhondeau, for revitalizing my faith this evening. Today, I am grateful for friendships that bridge mistakes, hurt, and hard life lessons. Sister E, I hope we are friends forever.