Unfair.

"Unfair!" cried the child who didn't quite know,
Why his dear loving mother would not let him go.
"I've done what you asked, sitting quiet and still.
I can't take any more learning, it's making me ill.
The others are playing out under the sun,
I want to play too, I want to have fun."

"Be patient my boy." said the wise gentle mother
Who remembered quite well being taught by another.
"The things that you learn will make you much stronger.
Just sit here and listen for a little while longer.
Others may play, but a lesson they lose,
They find they will need, when a choice they must chose."

"Unfair!" cried the girl at the grade on her test.
She was always more restless, half listening at best.
"I've done what you asked, haven't I satisfied you?
I've answered my best, why aren't all of these true?
I just cannot sit and study forever,
I have to run free, not tied by a tether!"

"Be patient dear child." said the fair and just teacher
Who'd taught many a child, some quite like this creature.
"You must learn to sit with patience and skill,
To listen to the words, and bend to the will,
Of those who have trod the path before you.
We know what is best and what you must do."

"Unfair!" Cried the youth at his parents' strict rules.
He could not understand why they seemed like such mules.
"I've done what you asked, right down to a tee.
So why must you always be picking on me.
Why don't you trust me to do what is right?
I know all I should, you treat me with spite."

"Be patient my boy." said the parents so sad.
They could see he was good, but part of him bad.
"We just want to help you and keep you from harm,
The things that you've done have cause us alarm.
We know what it's like, standing there in your shoes.
We just want to prepare you and teach you to choose."

"Unfair." Wept the woman who'd lost one she loved,
With pangs of deep sorrow crying to heav'n above.
"I've done what you asked, and helped all my brothers.
Couldn't you possibly, probably take someone other,
And give me back my loved one so dear.
Do you not see the pain sitting here in one tear?

"Be patient my child." Spoke the soft gentle voice,
The one that was wise, who helps guide our choice.
"I know that you hurt, for I've felt your sorrow.
I'll weep with you now and look forward to tomorrow.
Your pain will ease, and your burden grow lighter,
I'll be with you always, and help you grow brighter."

"Unfair." Never passed the lips of his face,
And yet he was the one being of pure grace.
"I've done what you've asked, my work here is done.
Now I can return to my Father as Son.
Mankind will sorrow, but taste of sweet joy.
If they will remember and my guidance employ.
We will be there beside them and show them the way,
So they may return to truly live some day.
Just listen my children, trust in your heart,
And my Spirit from you will never depart.
I'll help you through the choices you choose,
And with me by your side, you never can lose.

~Tegan Rachel

Promises

Broken promises hurt, both when I break them or others do. I don't like the feeling of having failed, or of being let down. But, I also know that I am human, and that others are human and I do not begrudge anyone their humanity. We all make mistakes and we all learn from them. Not everything is in our power. And that is the lesson that I have studiously been trying to not learn... and so God teaches me again and again.
But, here are a couple pictures of 2 promises that I know are true. And promises that will never be broken.

One: God and Christ love me. I will find it in my heart to love and be loved again, I do not know if the face will be familiar or new, but I will love again. Eventually, after I have healed enough. So I wear this ring as a promise to and reminder for myself.

Two: All of the promises in this book. We can find healing and true happiness in the arms of our Lord and through the guidance of the Holy Ghost if we will listen and be obedient. 

Three: The sun will always rise and bring a new day of promise. The sign before Christ's birth the day and the night were filled with light. Even when the American continent was covered in darkness the sun rose and set. After the dark night there always comes a dawn.

A Rose

If you know how to handle a rose, you can get away pretty well off. You can enjoy the beauty and sweet fragrance without having to grab the tweezers or band aids. If you don't, you will get hurt and maybe decide that a rose is better admired from a far. Dealing with the thorns can be time consuming as you carefully remove them so the rose is not so offensive, but in the end it is worth it.
     I have noticed the same is often true with people too. It just takes time and patience and knowing that while you may be poked by a thorn, the end of your efforts is very much worth the effort.

Healing

Everyone wants to be healed and whole and happy. It is the deepest human desire and one that is often challenged and pushed aside when aches and pains rear their heads. Sometimes we try to heal ourselves, and for the little hurts, it works, but sometimes it's like putting a band-aid on a broken heart. We can only do so much for ourselves before we are overwhelmed and turn to despair. We can try to bury it, but it will never truly leave us alone and affects us even when we are unaware. We cannot and should not go through this life alone. God put us in families and gave us the desire to be loved and needed for a reason. He also gave us the beautiful tool of prayer. When all else fails, He will not, He will not. It is we that distance ourselves from Him, He will never turn away from us, never tell us we don't matter, never deny us His outstretched arms, never betray us, never do anything that is not for our good, and never allow us to be given more than we can handle.
He gives us angels in our families and in our lives around us, people to hold us in their arms when we need it most. Counsel to help us through our darkest times. Eyes to see what was so crucial for us that we could not see. Ears to listen when we need to tell our deepest desires. Love to comfort us and let us know that we are not worthless or hopeless or wrong. No matter what we do we can be whole again, no matter what we experience or what others do to us, we can be whole.
But the Lord will never take away our agency. We have to want to be whole, we have to come to others, to open up our vulnerability and let others know that we are not perfect. Which is almost silly because no one, save Christ alone, is perfect. "Everybody's got stuff." Trusting others is hard and frightening, but the peace and healing that comes from it is worth everything. The Atonement is real, all our pains can be swallowed up and we can be whole. Truly completely whole. All we have to do is let Him in, open our hearts and lean on others. That's why we are here, to lean on each other, everybody needs somebody.

There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one,     not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.I believe that the most lawless and inordinate loves are less contrary to God’s will than a self-invited and self-protective lovelessness…We shall draw nearer to God, not by trying to avoid the sufferings inherent in all loves, but by accepting them and offering them to Him; throwing away all defensive armour. If our hearts need to be broken, and if He chooses this as a way in which they should break, so be it.What I know about love and believe about love and giving ones heart began in this. - C. S. Lewis