Fear Ye Not! The Lord Shall Fight For You!-Natalie

Many of the things I have learned in my life came as a result of rearing all these six children! Here's another memory I had when Natalie left for her mission!

In 1999, when Natalie got her mission call to Novosibirsk, Russia, I was literally terrified and wondered if I had enough faith to send a daughter to such a far-away-waste land in Siberia! However, she was excited and was spiritually and mentally prepared to go. When one of her friends asked her, “Natalie, are you smart enough to learn Russian?” Natalie quipped, “Well, apparently the Lord thinks I am.” End of conversation!

She loved the MTC; companions; the Spirit so strong; Russian language was so hard; and soon the time was ready for us to journey from Boise and see her off at the airport in Salt Lake City in December, 1999. We excitedly checked her luggage and went through checkpoint. Lisa and Jill and their kids were all there and excited. This was before 911 and family went up to the boarding gate. We were happily chatting away with about 1 hour before the plane was scheduled to leave. Jordan, then about 7, asked Natalie if her Visa was in Russian. He wanted to see it. She reached in her bag only to find it was NOT there! Big time panic! Natalie and I started running to retrace all her steps checking in. We checked the ticket counter, the scanner for take-on baggage, and trash cans. We even called the MTC to see if they could send another one!

Exhausted and with 10 minutes to go, we felt impressed to go again to the scanner belt where they checked purses, etc. “Oh yes!” someone said. “We found these papers in a foreign language and couldn’t read them and thought someone would come and retrieve them!” We grabbed them, and then we literally ran to the boarding gate, hurriedly said our goodbyes, hugs, kisses, and off she went. She would be 6,000 miles away from her home in Boise, Idaho, for 18 months! On the way back to Jill’s, it hit me! I was the one who was worried about Natalie going to Russia. And, I had just let the perfect opportunity pass me by to keep her from going! I had actually just assisted her leaving when I could have stopped it! Why did I try so hard to find that stupid Visa? The tears started streaming. I was down-heartened. I was so dumb!

When we got home, I had to take my mind off of it! I turned on the television to BYUtv; Elder Jeffrey Holland was just beginning a talk. I thought, “I love Elder Holland. I’ll see what he says!” He told the story in Moses, “It is plain and a very sobering truth that before great spiritual moments, can come adversity, opposition, and darkness. Life has some of those moments for us, and occasionally they come just as we are approaching an import decision or a significant step in our life.” He recounted the experience of Joseph Smith’s prayer to God requesting to know which Church to join and receiving a pillar of light and then being delivered in destructive power that held him bound. That was Satan who wanted to keep the greatest event of the dispensation of the fulness of times from coming to the earth, the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! God is stronger than the devil and delivered Joseph and then appeared to him with glory. (JSH 1:15-20)

Back to Moses. Moses had spoken with God face to face and had had a great vision and revelation! (Moses 1:4). Moses’ message is to us, “Don’t let your guard down; it’s not over until it’s over.” Lucifer then came to Moses and promised him his (Satan’s) glory. (Moses 1:13-16). Brother Holland continued, “The opposition turns up almost anyplace something good has happened…Fighting through darkness and despair and pleading for the light is what opened this dispensation. It is what keeps it going, and it is what will keep you going. When the second and the third and the fourth blows come, “Fear ye not. The Lord shall fight for you!” BYU Devotional, “Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence” by Jeffrey R. Holland, 3-2-99.

A teaching moment! I knew without a doubt that the Lord had fought for me to hear Elder Holland at that very moment, and on that very day. I was filled with wonder and gratitude for rearing a worthy young daughter to be called to serve in Russia. I knew that the Gospel was true, and I was willing and had faith to lend her to the Lord for 18 months to not only strengthen her own testimony, but knew that the Russians’ lives would be blessed also.

This is a valuable lesson I seem to have to keep relearning my whole life! Satan can do a real number on any of us sometimes! Even though I know the Lord has guided me in this great Family History project I'm working on for you, Satan keeps throwing his darts of doubt at me. I continually keep refocusing and remembering, “Cast not away your confidence. Fear ye not. The Lord shall fight for you!”   Memories of Carol Ann Shepherd 11-14-18