Alma 58:11-12...Otherwise Entitled: Sand on the Sidewalks

*NOTE TO THE READER: This particular post is not a required one for my Book of Mormon class - I've decided that I kinda like blogging. So I said to myself: "Sam, you are your own man - it's your blog, you can write a post whenevs you want to." And so that's what I've decided to do. Be warned, though: Another blog will be coming later this week in conjunction with my religion class.
Don't say I didn't warn you.....

I am the kind of guy who enjoys to ramble (You'll hopefully notice that the word 'ramble' is cleverly hidden in the web address of this here blog). Get me started on a subject I love to talk about, and I'll ramble for hours. A prime example of that: Little kids. I love little kids! They're the best! At times they can be kinda crazy, at other times they can be a little loud and rambunctious - yet at the end of the day, they're still some of our best examples of how to truly live and become more like God.
Take, for example, a cousin of mine. He had watched as his mother, older sisters, and myself had played a card game that was fast-paced and exciting; obviously he wanted to be a part of this adventure too! He quietly came to me one morning and said, "Sam, can you teach me how to play?"
After giving him the affirmative, I started teaching him the rules of the game. For a young kid it was quite a hard and complicated game; it required a fair amount of speed and agility, something that my little cousin was still developing. He and I sat at his kitchen table, and I taught him the rules. He was a little clumsy with the cards at times, and often missed obvious moves; there were times when I felt impatience rising within me, but after looking at him, watching how intently he focused on playing the game, I realized that there was no way that I could ever be upset with him.
My cousin was trying so hard to play the card game; he made some mistakes, but he moved past those mistakes and continued forward in learning this game that, for most children his age, would have been an exceedingly difficult task.
I love my little cousin so much, and I'm so grateful for the example he showed to me that day we played the card game. As I relive that experience, I also recall another that illustrates that same principle.
I was walking up towards the temple (a building in which are performed the most sacred of ordinances on this earth) one morning; it was chilly, brisk, and the sidewalk beneath my traction-less church shoes was extremely slippery. I fought to stay upright; there was no way I was going to fall down - I was in church clothes, I was cold, I was ready to get to the temple...but how much longer was the sidewalk going to be this slippery? Maybe I should just turn around...
As I continued to traverse the gentle incline of the sidewalk, I noticed something - a gradual change in the surface beneath my feet. There, scattered all over the sidewalk, was sand - likely placed there to help poor kids like me with only traction-less church shoes make it to the temple without slipping and falling to our deaths. Walking up the sidewalk and making it to the temple was now much easier, since there was sand there to provide me sure footing.
Before I try to attempt to explain the point behind these two stories, I'd like to share Alma 58:11-12, the scripture referred to in the title of this post:
"Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in him.
"And we did take courage with our small force which we had received, and we were fixed with a determination to conquer our enemies, and to maintain our lands, and our possessions, and our wives, and our children, and the cause of our liberty."
The setting of these verses is in the middle of a war-zone; a beleaguered army, running low on supplies and men, is desperate to retake a pivotal stronghold in the region...but they are running low on supplies and men. And so they pray to the Lord for strength, under the direction of their leader, who is not only a warrior but also a prophet.
And He spoke peace to their souls.
When I was walking to the temple, I realized that the trials, challenges, tribulations, heartaches and breaks, tough times, bad days, and unexpected tragedies of life can all be summarized by two words: slippery sidewalks. Those slippery sidewalks don't disappear or go away - they're still there, no matter what direction life takes us. And yet, our loving God doesn't leave us stranded on slippery sidewalks. He provides us sand to walk on, something that our traction-less shoes can grip, something that our spirits can take hold of and follow.
Sand can come in so many different forms - Beloved friends who hear, cheer, and comfort you; parents and family members who guide and counsel you; scriptures to inspire and correct you; an everlasting Atonement to wash away the bruises and bleeding knees for those who have slipped on the sidewalks of life.
Realizing that sand is beneath our shoes; accepting and listening to the peace in our souls - that's not always easy, but sometimes we need to slip or miss that peace for a little bit of time before we can truly appreciate the sand and the comfort to our souls. Sometimes we have to go through the hard times to make us appreciate the good ones; and once we do make it through such times, we can then go forward and upward. We can do as the second verse of the above scripture suggests; we can "take courage...and [be] fixed with a determination to conquer..."
We can and will make mistakes, but God will correct those mistakes when we let Him. And after the chastening and the correction, He will help us back up on our feet; He will mend the bruises and scrapes from slipping on the sidewalk, and He will direct us as we move forward. Just as my cousin illustrated when learning how to play that difficult card game: We have to "take courage" and move forward and upward, past those mistakes, just as he (my little cousin) did.
We can and will do it. We can and must do it.
And the best part?
We don't have to do it alone. Friends, family, neighbors, peers, associates are all there to help us...and, ultimately, the very God of Heaven.
May God be with you till we meet again, my friends.

Sam